


Short and Sweet, Lots to Eat

by Anibelli



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Attempted robbery, Based On A Panic! At The Disco Song, Crime Fighting, Cute, DJWifi, Death of a Bachelor, Drabble, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, LadyNoir - Freeform, M/M, Marichat, Post-Reveal Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Soulmate AU, Swearing, Violence, Writing On Skin AU, aged-up, cat!Marinette, happiness, ladrien, post-reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-07-23 14:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16160963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anibelli/pseuds/Anibelli
Summary: These are a collection of drabbles I'll be writing whenever I have writers block or have an idea I can make into a quick oneshot. These will all be in the Miraculous Universe, but I am open to many types of AU's so if you have a suggestion feel free to let me know!1st: Marinette's soulmate likes asking for fun facts about her, but is very secretive with his.2nd: Death of a Bachelor songfic that progresses through their made up relationship or something idk im tired3rd: Marinette just wants to get home and design her dress, but it turns out it's not safe walking alone at night...4th: Marinette is hit by an akuma and turns into something very inconvenient...





	1. Fun Fact?

_Fun Fact?_

Marinette dragged her eyes away from Mme. Bustier at the front of the room. Her eyebrows raised slightly. _Fun fact?_ What does that mean?

 **What do you mean?** she wrote back with a cute questioning smiley face.

_Tell me a fun fact about yourself._

Marinette glanced back up at her teacher. She hadn’t noticed Marinette’s wavering attention yet.

**I like designing**

_Something I don’t know, M._

**Fine fine**

**I don’t have a middle name**

_Really?_

**Yeah, but I have two last names so it sorta makes up for it**

A response didn’t appear for a minute, and Marinette started to wonder what had happened. She began to panic. What if he had been driving? What if a car hit him? What if someone confronted him on the street and he was being robbed?

Another message appeared a second later, messily scrawled for someone with always perfect handwriting. _Got caught_.

She exhaled. Of course. Just the overbearing teacher.

**Hope I don’t get caught. My teacher’s nice but really doesn’t like when**

“Ahem,” A voice cleared behind her. Marinette froze, turning slowly and slipping her arm behind her back to hide the messages. A stern blue gaze stared down at her.

“Uhh… Sorry?”

“Marinette, I understand you haven’t met your soulmate yet, but you do not have the right to write them during my class. Save that for your lunch breaks,” Mme. Bustier informed her, making Marinette nod and blush.

Marinette waited until Mme. Bustier had reached the end of the room before scribbling back: **Got caught too**

_We’re a pair, aren’t we?_

**Match made in heaven, apparently**

_Well, I may have never seen your face_

Marinette waited a moment until the rest of the message appeared.

_— But you’re clearly an angel._

She muffled a snort into her hand. Her soulmate was a man she had never met, but he knew exactly how to make her laugh.

 _A_ was a person she didn’t know much about. She knew he was a man, around the ages 16-18, who was homeschooled his whole life. She knew his writing was always neat, every letter formed perfectly, with perfect grammar and punctuation. She knew his love of puns held no bounds, and that he couldn’t leave the house much because of a “condition”. He never bothered to specify what type of condition, though it seemed debilitating.

She also knew he didn’t want to meet her yet.

 _A_ told her that he didn’t want to force their meeting. They were both away of the people who wrote down their location on their hand and met up with their soulmate as soon as they could. Marinette wasn’t bothered by his waiting game, but she couldn’t help but wonder when he would be ready. They clearly got along well. Marinette had been drawing him pictures even before she knew he would be seeing them too. She laughed at his flirts and jokes, while he seemed fascinated by every little fact she told him about herself. She couldn’t help but ask herself why.

Marinette didn’t respond to the flirt, instead drawing a very undetailed sketch of an angel on her palm. She watched as a small detail was added to the angel. A handlebar mustache scribbled itself onto her palm, and looked away in fear of bursting into loud laughter in the quiet classroom.

**You’re gonna make me laugh in the middle of class? Cruel**

_You should know by now, princess. I live to serve you. Just ask and I will stop._

**Never said that**

_That’s why you’re purrfect._

**Tone it down there**

_Fine._

* * *

_Fun Fact?_

Marinette stopped sewing when another message popped up onto her hand. Messages from a soulmate disappeared once you washed them off, along with your own messages. Marinette always cleared her body at the end of the day, awaiting a new conversation the next day.

**Bored?**

_Very. Entertain me, my dearest?_

**Hmmm… I prefer Chat Noir over Ladybug?**

A didn’t answer for a while, and she worried she had offended him.

_Why?_

Uh oh. A one word answer meant he was upset.

**Idk I just think he’s more important than people give him credit for. Ladybug is great but Chat Noir is helpful and kind and good with people. Ladybug is the soldier, Chat Noir is the soldier and the Marketing department.**

_I have a feeling Chat Noir wouldn’t mind being called a Marketing Department :)._

Oh good, a smiley face. He must’ve been confused.

**What about you? I have a feeling you like Ladybug more**

_Guilty as charged._

“Did you see that one, Tikki?” Marinette wiggled in her seat, giggling.

“No, what is it?” Tikki asked from her seat in front of Marinette’s laptop. She was watching anime in Japanese. She didn’t need the subtitles.

“He said he likes Ladybug! God, he’s the best!”

“Are you going to ask him to meet up?”

“I don’t think so. He said he’ll tell me when he’s ready.”

Tikki was quiet.

“What if he’s never ready?”

Marinette didn’t have an answer for that.

* * *

Chat Noir was late to patrol, but this time she couldn’t be mad. He had the biggest smile on his face.

“Apparently, between the two of us, my soulmate likes me more!” Chat Noir flipped his imaginary ponytail. Ladybug snorted.

“Well, mine likes me better. I guess that’s why they’re our soulmates, then.”

“Makes sense.”

With that, Ladybug leapt off the rooftop, swinging her yoyo frantically, reaching out to the other side of the street. Chat Noir followed, leaping over the gap between buildings, black suit reflecting the moonlight.

The night was clear, for once. The stars were dim in the polluted city, but the ones that were still visible were shining bright enough to make the night magical. The moon, round and full, illuminated the dark streets of Paris, reflecting of the windows and car windshields. Ladybug could see children point to the sky, swearing to their mothers that they saw Ladybug and Chat Noir swing by in the dead of night.

“So,” Chat Noir started, grunting as he vaulted over a railing. “Have you met your soulmate yet?”

Ladybug huffed. “We shouldn’t be talking about this.”

“C’mon bug, that’s what you always say. Knowing if you’ve met your soulmate won’t make Hawkmoth get our Miraculouses any faster than it will makes us get his. Take some weight off your shoulders. We both know keeping secrets from our loved ones sucks.”

Ladybug was quiet, swinging through the thick black air, pondering deeply. He had a point.

“I trust you, My Lady.”

That was her breaking point. She sighed. “I haven’t met my soulmate yet. He doesn’t want to meet.”

That surprised Chat. “What? Really? Why?”

“I’m not sure. He never gave me a straight answer. I’m too… cautious to bring it up again.”

“Weird.” Chat was silent.

“What about you, Chat Noir?”

“Nope. We’re not ready yet. But she does have a good sense of humor, so that makes it tempting.”

“Of course she does. Only one person could like those cheesy puns.”

“Yeah, she’s one of a kind.”

“Honestly? He is too.”

“Oh yeah?”

“He has perfect punctuation and grammar, never makes a mistake. I’ve really improved in school because of him. It’s super helpful for essays.”

“Interesting…” Again, Chat went silent.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Ladybug prompted, scanning the horizon for any rogue explosions.

“Bunch of stuff. Mostly my SM. No. No. My soulmate. I see why no one calls it that ever. That was a mistake.”

“One I can forgive. Curiosity did kill the cat, after all.” Ladybug giggled.

“Satisfaction brought it back, however. And I am perfectly satisfied with calling it soulmate now, thank you very much. But yeah.”

“Soulmates.”

“Soulmates.”

* * *

_Fun Fact?_

Marinette blinked groggily at the message tingling her arm. It was goddamn six in the morning why was he doing this on a Sunday?

**why**

_Why what?_

**it is way to early**

_*too_

**going back to sleep**

_Really quick one?_

Marinette flicked her eyes over the message a few times. She groaned and racked her brain.

**If you wake me up before eight any other time in my lifetime unless im in labor and too asleep to realize it i will murder you**

_I will remember that, princess. Sweet dreams._

* * *

“My soulmate is a true sleeping beauty.”

 

“Why’s that?”

“She likes to sleep in.”

“So does half the planet?”

“Yeah, but she looks good doing it.”

“You met up?”

“No, I’m just picturing her in my head.”

“Do you know what she looks like?”

“No. Why? I can imagine her well enough!”

“Sure thing, Chat. Let’s finish this patrol quick. I need to go back to sleep.”

“I guess there are two of you, huh?”

“Shut up.”

* * *

_Fun Fact?_

**This game is getting hard?** **  
**

_Better one._

Marinette thought for a bit.

**I never watched an anime as bad as SAO**

_Oooh… Good choice, but personally I never liked Fairy Tail. The plot was all over the place and the characters were really awful and I just couldn’t get past the first season._

**Yeah that show sucked too**

**How about you? You give me a fun fact, and make it a good one**

_A_ didn’t answer for a while.

_You’ve probably seen my face before._

Marinette raised an eyebrow at that.

**Why’s that?**

_Ah ah ah… One question per day._

**I’ve given you multiple facts per day, jerk**

_Yes but I like to play by the rules, princess._

**Oh, quiet. Go watch fairy tail and be sad**

_Princess has a bite_

**Princess will bite when provoked**

_Princess wanna bite me? :3_

She didn’t answer, instead heading immediately for the bathroom to wash those cursed words off her arm.

* * *

“My Lady, before you leave for the night, what animes do you hate?”

“Sword Art Online and Fairy Tale.” Ladybug answered immediately, ignoring the bad taste that filled her mouth when she spoke those words.

“Right. I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Bye, Chat.” She waved and leapt off the roof. Chat Noir hesitated, before heading after her.

Marinette detransformed cautiously, slipping into her room through the trapdoor on her balcony. She had settled in bed and pulled out her newest book, when footsteps pounded on her balcony above her. She froze, sharing a glance with Tikki. That didn’t sound good.

She hesitantly peeked her head out from the trapdoor, brandishing a rolling pin before her. The trapdoor squeaked, and the figure on the roof turned. Glowing green eyes pierced her through the darkness.

“Chat Noir?” Marinette asked. He grinned.

“Heya, dear civilian. Any chance you… is that a rolling pin?”

Marinette huffed. “You did land on a bakery. What did you expect, a golf club?”

Chat grinned wider. “You’ve got spunk.”

“Did you need something?”

“Yeah, any chance you saw Ladybug go by? I needed to…” He trailed off again, his eyes finding the words written on her arm. She hadn’t washed them off yet.

“Yes?”

“To speak with her.” He finished, the words coming naturally from his subconscious, as it was clear he was no longer concerned with Ladybug. She shuffled backwards, and Chat Noir broke his gaze.

“No, I haven’t seen her. What was it you needed to see her about?”

“Nothing too important. I just forgot the next date for patrol.”

“Ah. Well, if I see her, I’ll let you know?”

“That’d be great, thanks!” He saluted her and hopped off the roof.

Tikki floated up from her jacket. “That was odd.”

“A bit, yeah. We should probably go after him and remind him it was next week.”

Marinette transformed and went into the night again. But, after searching for half an hour, Chat Noir was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Marinette was sitting at her desk when she heard footsteps again. She glanced at Tikki. Again?

Chat Noir had started to visit her more frequently than seemed normal. It was weird. She had never seen him take a liking to a civilian so quickly, but he seemed to find her “spunk” entertaining, and kept coming back for more. That, and more cookies.

“What is it now, Chat—” Marinette cut herself off when a pair of angry red eyes met hers, a large contrast to the soft, playful green eyes she was used to.

“Where is Ladybug? And Chat Noir?”

“I-I think they’re at the Eiffel Tower?” Marinette offered weakly. The Akuma growled. 

“Fine. But I’ll take you as a souvenir!” The red hand reached out to grab Marinette. She recoiled, hand reaching down to summon Tikki. However, there was no need.

A low growl, followed by a blur of black tackled into the red Akuma. They tumbled off the edge of her roof, and Marinette saw a flash of blonde hair. She raced to the edge, peering over to see Chat Noir crush the Akuma’s skull with a swift strike of his staff. The Akuma roared angrily, taking to the streets. Chat Noir flipped his hair, and launched himself back up to her balcony and landing gracefully on her railing.

“You didn’t get hurt, did you purrincess?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “No. But you should probably stop that Akuma before someone else does.”

Chat Noir grinned. He carefully leaned down, taking her hand gently in his, and placing a light kiss atop the back of her hand. She flushed red.

“Stay safe, purrincess.”

“I-I will.” She managed to say as he winked and leapt off the roof. She watched him go, before flushing darker and racing to her railing to angrily yell, “A-and stop calling me that!”

* * *

_Fun Fact?_

**Right now?**

_Or later, whatever’s more convenient for you, princess._

**Fine fine… I’ve spoken to Chat Noir recently.**

_What a coincidence! So have I!_ _  
_ ****

**Really?**

_Why yes! And I bragged all about you!_ _  
_ ****

**Well that makes sense. He calls me princess**

_That doesn’t sound like his style._

Marinette narrowed her eyes. He wasn’t going to make her say it, was he?

**He calls me purrincess**

_That sounds more like him._

**Sounds like you. Did you tell him to do that?** **  
**

_Purrhaps?_

**You’re a dork**

_A dork that you love?_

**Maybe**

_Well, I love you too._

Marinette hesitated. They had never said that before.

Why not? A voice in her head asked. Why not? Your feelings are clear. Your future is clear. It will be with him. And this may be the next step to meeting him.

**Yeah yeah, dork, that much is clear**

_I’m glad. I wouldn’t want you to misunderstand my feelings. Us not meeting is really protecting you._

**Why?**

_Like I said, you’ve seen my face before._

**Are you a crime lord or something?**

_Crime lord at 17 would have to be some type of world record, right?_

**Not if its you**

_Meowuch!_

**Okay that’s where this conversation stops. Goodnight, A**

_Fair enough. Goodnight, M. Sweet Dreams of my pretty face?_ _  
_ ****

**Dont push it**

_Just regular sweet dreams, then, princess._

_I love you._

Marinette smiled sleepily. That was nice to see.

**Love you too, dork**

* * *

_Fun Fact?_

**You’re enjoying this game too much?**

_I enjoy everything when it comes to you._

**Sap**

_I thought I was a dork?_

**You’re that too**

**I’m outside right now. It’s nice outside.**

_What are you doing?_

**Is this sexting?**

_How dare you? I am a gentleman. I am simply curious as to what you are spending your time doing._

**Thank god cause I’m doing homework and i’m not sure how to make that sexy.**

_True, it is hard to turn something so mundane into something attractive._

_Though I’m sure you could make it work._

**Dork**

_I thought I was a sap?_

**I thought I said you were both?**

_True, princess. You did clarify those exact words._

**How about you tell me a fact now, since that’s the new rules?** **  
**

_Well, I’m sort of sick._

**Like cold sick or very high fever sick?**

_Just a cold._

_Though the medication is really getting to me._ _  
_

_I wanna be reckless._

_Actually…_

**What?**

But _A_ never answered. She waited a minute, then two, then three, until she was worried he had done something so stupid he had lost his fingers. The thump of feet onto her balcony made her jump

“Chat Noir?”

“Purrincess,” he greeted, bowing with his usual grin. She exhaled heavily.

“You scared me.”

“My apologies. That was not my intention.” He glanced down at her arm. “Talking to someone special?”

“Yes, and now I’m concerned because he stopped answering.”

“Hmm, that is worrying. Can you call him?”

“I don’t even know his name, Chat.”

“Why not?”

“He’s secretive? I dunno.”

Chat Noir was silent as he perched onto her railing. 

“What do you need today?”

“I need cuddles?”

“No.”

“You’re no fun.”

“I’m loyal to my soulmate.”

“Like I said, no fun.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “How is that not fun?”

“You don’t even know who your soulmate is and you’re loyal to him? Besides, it’s not like I was gonna kiss you or anything. I’m just a cat who needs cuddling.”

“Nerd.”

“Nerd who needs cuddles,” Chat Noir corrected her. She raised an eyebrow, before sighing and scooting over. He grinned widely and leapt off the railing to join her.

It wasn’t long before they became comfortable; Chat tucked under her arm as she wrote the correct answers to her homework. Chat Noir purred, sending warmth straight to her core. She felt his soft hair against her neck. His green eyes were closed most of the time, but occasionally she’d glance down to find him staring at the words on her skin.

“Why are you so interested in my soulmate?”

“He seems odd. Especially since he doesn’t want to meet you.”

“It’s his decision. I wouldn’t be comfortable forcing him to do it anyways.”

Chat purred in response, green eyes flickering to the red speck he would occasionally see flickering past the glass trap door window. He knew Ladybug’s kwami had more sense than Plagg, but he was excited to meet her. And this cold syrup was rotting his brain.

“Can I borrow that pen?” he asked, pointing to the black ballpoint pen in her hand. She looked at him, eyebrow cocked.

“Why?”

“I need to show you something, purrincess. It’s essential to my demonstration.”

“Fine, but you better not draw on my face or something,” Marinette rolled her eyes, missing Chat’s devious grin.

“Oh, of course not.” Chat purred, snuggling against her chest. She sighed, sinking lower into the chair, eyes falling closed.

She barely felt the tip of the pen scrawl across her face, but she definitely noticed Chat’s snickers at the end. Her eyes flew open.

“What did you… oh my god.” She stiffled a giggle. Either Chat had a mirror handy, or his soulmate had scribbled a handlebar mustache onto her upper lip. “Chat, you’ve got a little something on your face.”

“So do you,” Chat grinned. She froze. She narrowed her eyes. She looked sideways. She gasped.

Her hands flew before she could think, scrambling out of the chair and rushing down into her room. She dashed to her vanity, and low and behold:

A matching mustache graced her features.

She slowly made her way back up to the balcony, to see Chat Noir sitting gracefully on her railing, a bashful smile on his face.

“Surprise?”

She almost tackled him off the roof with her hug.

He laughed hard, holding her back just as tightly as he held her.

“How did you know?” she asked, voice muffled by his chest.

“I can read your mind, Bugaboo.”

“Answer the question, dork.”

“I saw the writing, I asked the same questions and received the same answers, and I’ve never seen that high quality spunk in another girl before.”

Marinette pulled away, only enough to reach up and cup his face. Her fingers graced the edges of his mask. “I love you, Chat Noir.”

His face split into an even wider smile. “I love you too, Marinette.”

She pulled him down, and captured his lips onto hers.

* * *

Marinette arrived to school on Monday feeling refreshed. She had woken up on time, thanks to a certain Kwami, successfully eaten a great breakfast, thanks to a certain mother, and gathered all her things, thanks to a certain father.

Her day was going great.

Until she arrived at school.

“Did you see him?

“Oh he’s so handsome!”

“I’d love to be his soulmate!”

“I think he’s my soulmate!”

“Did you hear the news, girl?” Alya slid up to Marinette, bumping their hips together. Marinette clutched her back tighter.

“Some new kid?”

“Yep! He’s a total snack, too.”

“I dunno, I heard he was a solid meal, Al.” Nino said, appearing on Marinette’s other side. Alya laughed, reaching across Marinette to punch her soulmate in the arm.

“I also heard he’s a friend of Chloe’s,” Nino added. Marinette huffed.

“Great. I bet I’ll hate him.”

That wasn’t necessarily the case.

Marinette walked into class to see Chloe and Sabrina giggling from their seats, looking at a blonde figure hunched over at Marinette’s seat. From the looks of things, he was putting gum on her seat.

“Hey!” Marinette yelled, stomping forward. Alya gasped at the sight.

The boy looked up, tissue in the other hand. “I was trying to remove it!” He uttered, breathless.

Both of them froze.

“No way,” Marinette muttered. The boy started to laugh. He stood up, heading down the stairs to reach Marinette.

“No way,” Marinette repeated. “Adrien Agreste? _You’re Adrien Agreste?_ ”

“Ah, so you’ve heard of me!” Adrien said, delighted.

She shoved his chest, and a few of their classmates gasped. “You ass! That’s what you meant by ‘you’ll see me soon’? You absolute dork!”

“Keep saying stuff like that, and this class will think you hate me,” he warned, eyes sparkling. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a hard kiss, causing more classmates to gasp and shriek.

“I love you, Adrien. Even if you’re a complete dork who enrolls in his soulmates class without telling her.” She muttered against his lips as they seperated. He grinned goofily. 

“I love you too, bug.”

A stomp sounded next to them. They glanced over to see Chloe throw her bag across the room and scream, “Unacceptable!”

“Deal with it, Chloe.” Marinette rolled her eyes, pulling Adrien back down to her lips.


	2. Lifetime of Laughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A songfic even though I usually hate them, but I have a new obsession so I had to lol.  
> Death of a Bachelor is really pretty and Brendon Urie has a beautiful voice.  
> I know the lyrics are out of order but I wanted it in a story style so just bear with me.  
> Enjoy!

**_Do I look lonely?_ **

_Nino is only doing this out of your best interest,_ Adrien reminded himself as he took as seat at the table. His jacket hung behind him on the back of his chair. The restaurant filled the silence with a dull hum, blending into the background. The dim lighting set a romantic mood. Adrien began to question why he was here.

 

**_Alone at a table for two, and I just wanna be served..._ **

He was waiting for a while, he noted, looking down at his watch. The waiters were beginning to return more often, checking in on him.

At least he wasn't alone. Another young woman was sitting alone, checking her phone often and finishing her third glass of water. If his date wasn’t a blonde, he would’ve thought they were seperated and hadn’t realized it yet.

Five minutes later, his patience wore thin. He was hungry, tired, and lonely. He grabbed his jacket and wine glass and made his way over to the woman, who was looking progressively more dejected as time went on.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” he asked when he reached the table. The woman looked up in shock, nodding slowly as he sat down across from her. He held out his hand politely.

“I’m Adrien. Looks like we both got stood up,” he offered. She took it lightly, starting to smile.

“Marinette. And seems like it…”

 

**_Share one more drink with me…_ **

“... I swear it’s true!” Adrien said through a smile. Marinette laughed harder, shaking her head in retaliation.

“No way.”

“Yes way!”

“Why would he do that?”

“I have no idea, Nino’s like some kind of enigma!”

They had been there for two hours, and Adrien was not blind to the fact that the waiters and waitresses had been taking extra special care of them. They were one of the last people in the restaurant, had finished their meals and desert, but no one had kicked them out yet.

“That’s insane.”

“I know! And he even had the audacity to say it wasn’t his fault. I haven’t trusted him since.”

“I can’t blame you,” Marinette giggled, getting the last of her laughs out. Adrien eyed his watch, then his wine glass.

“Share one more drink with me?”

 

**_Smile even though you’re sad…_ **

Adrien got a text from Marinette an hour before their date was supposed to start.

He immediately changed into pajamas and went to her house, ditching the casual outfit he had planned.

She answered the door with her hand rubbing her eyes. Marinette froze and stumbled backward when she saw him.

“A-Adrien?” she gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re sad. I’m here to help you through it.” He held up his bag and unzipped it. She looked through it.

“My favorite movie, my favorite candy, my favorite snack…” She looked up at him, and the tears started again. His brow worried, but she was smiling.

“Thank you, Adrien,” she pulled herself into his chest. “Thank you.”

 

**_Feels like my heart is going to burst…_ **

Adrien was going to say it. He was going to. He swears.

He just had to grow some balls first.

Throughout their entire date, he had been waiting for the perfect chance to say it. The walk wasn’t right, she was ranting about work. The lunch wasn’t perfect, the waiter had mixed up their order with someone else’s. It couldn’t be the shopping, she was too focused on her fabrics and probably would’ve tuned him out.

The walk home was perfect. He just needed to say it.

He glanced down at her again, seeing her freckles, eyelashes, slightly chapped lips. He needed to say it.

“Hey, Adrien?” Marinette asked, cutting through his thoughts.

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

He stumbled in his walk. Of course she beat him to it.

“I-I love you too.”

“Good,” she said. “Cause I want ice cream, and I know this place has your favorite. Let’s stop and grab some.”

God, he certainly did love her.

 

**_Letting the water fall..._ **

“Marinette, please come out, I really need to talk to you.”

“Please go away, I don’t want to talk about it. Please, Adrien.”

“No, Marinette, I need to help you. Please. I love you, I can’t keep seeing you do this to yourself. I can help you, please!” The tears started to fall. “Marinette, I love you too much. Let me see your face, please…”

There was silence behind the shut door.

It creaked open. Adrien pushed through it and grabbed her tight, pulling her to his chest and holding her close.

“We can get through this. I’m here. I’ll always be here for you.”

She cried with him.

 

**_Walking the long road…_ **

Marinette wanted to move in together.

Adrien thought it was a great idea.

So great, he got all his friends to help out.

“Nice to finally meet you, Nino. I’ve actually heard a lot about you from Alya. You know, the reporter?”

“Oh, yeah. She’s awesome. And it’s awesome to meet you, Marinette. My bro over here love you a lot.”

“So he tells me,” Marinette winked at him, and they laughed.

“Looks like you two are walking the long road together, huh?”

“That’s definitely the plan,” Adrien said, kissing the top of her head and fist bumping with Nino.

 

**_Watching the sky fall..._ **

They were laying on the couch. There was a movie on the TV, a new James Bond. They called it _Skyfall_.

“This is pretty good,” Marinette noted.

“Yeah.”

“We should watch it again.”

“I think we should see how it ends first, babe.”

“Fine, fine.”

They were silent for a bit.

“Didn’t your dad design that suit?”

A sigh. “Yes.”

 

**_Put my heart on my chest so you can see it, too…_ **

“My mom left when I was 13. She never came back.”

Marinette dropped a bowl. It was plastic, so it didn’t shatter, but she turned around, shock all over her face.

“What?”

“Yeah. My dad’s been cold ever since then. That’s why you never met either of them, by the way.”

She walked over to him and cupped his face in her hands. 

“I will never leave you. I promise.”

He gave her a soft smile. “I know.”

 

**_The lace of your dress tingles my neck…_ **

He kissed her hard, hands roaming her waist and hips. She groaned against his mouth, tongue searching his in response. He moved from her mouth, moving down her jaw and neck to her collarbone as she struggled to breathe. He felt the lace of her dress against his neck as he kissed his way down her chest. It was a bother.

He began to remove it.

 

**_How do I live?_ **

Everything was perfect. Everything. Everything.

“Marinette, I’m so happy I came up to you that day. I’m so happy you let me sit down.”

“Well, it would’ve been rude if I didn’t,” she laughed.

“I’m happy you gave me a change. And I hope you’re okay with me asking for another chance…”

“What are you talking about, Adrien… Oh my god,” her hands fumbled to put her sketchbook down as she jumped to her feet.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng… Will you marry me?”

 

**_Happily ever after…_ **

“Marinette, I saw you for the first time in black and white. Then I met you, and my world exploded into color. You brought me everything I ever could have asked for, and I hope I’ve done the same for you. I love you so much. You are everything to me.”

“Marinette, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself solely unto her for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Please exchange the rings,” the minister gestured to the ring bearer, who came forward and let each person take a ring. Marinette slipped her ring onto Adrien’s finger, failing to keep the smile off her face. Adrien did the same, wiping away his tears.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Adrien gently met her lips, and sealed their marriage.

 

**_How do I ask for more?_ **

Adrien was sitting down their couch, when a thought occurred to him. He turned to his wife, who was sketching next to him.

How does he ask for this? He has everything but…

“Marinette?”

“Hmm?”

“I want kids.”

He swears, it wasn’t his fault that she choked on the coffee.

 

**_A lifetime of laughter, at the expense of the death of a bachelor._ **

He watched Emma chase Hugo around their backyard, Louis carry their cat, Plagg, to his mother, who was tending to her garden. He sipped the coffee lightly, gazing at everything. It was everything he could ever have asked for.

He watched as Louis passed Plagg onto Marinette’s welcoming arms. Marinette held him quickly, before Plagg scrambled away, kicking her in the face in the process.

Adrien laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it! I know it's short and a bit rushed but that's sorta the point of this collection lol! Phew! This was fun! And if you haven't listened to the song I highly recommend it, it's a beautiful piece of music.  
> Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	3. No Miraculous? Still a Badass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A prompt given to me by @Ghostee where I had to write a oneshot using the lines "We were supposed to leave like 10 minutes ago." and "Don't touch me!"  
> Rated T for violence, swearing, and sexual innuendo.  
> Possible trigger warning for anyone who has been physically attacked at night.

“We were supposed to leave like, ten minutes ago.”

“Yeah, I know, I know!” Marinette waved behind her, reaching up and rubbing the blue chiffon fabric lightly, thinking hard.

“Marinette, you know I have somewhere to be!” Alya whined.

“Just one more minute!”

“I really have to go!”

“Okay, okay… Ooh!” Marinette scampered to her right, hearing Alya sigh behind her. They had been friends for three years now, so she should have expected it would have been hard to get her from this store. But now that Marinette’s imagination was running wild, Alya knew there was no hope.

“Okay, Marinette, I give up. I have to leave. You’ll be okay getting home?”   


“Yeah, yeah! No sweat!” Marinette brushed Alya’s concerns off her shoulders. “I only live a couple blocks away, you know!” 

“Yeah, at the expense of your paycheck,” Alya snorted. “Okay, well, text me when you leave and when you get home. I should respond, if my mom doesn’t lose her shit at me for being late.”   


“Okay! See you tomorrow!”   


“Bye, Mari.”

Marinette was looking for a new fabric to make a dress with. Their annual school winter ball was approaching, and, like every year, she was planning on wearing her best dress. She just needed the perfect fabric. And the perfect date.

She glanced at her phone. It had been fifteen more minutes since Alya left, and it was already pitch black outside. She glanced between the two fabrics she was looking at and sighed. Taking a quick picture of the fabrics and prices, she shoved her phone into her bag and left.

“Not getting anything this time?” Tikki asked, popping her head out of the bag. Marinette shook her head as she exited the shop into the chilled Parisian air. 

“Not sure what to get yet, and there are so many options… Maybe a blue…”   


Tikki giggled. “Well, it would match your eyes!”   


Marinette smiled. “That it would…”

She sent Alya a quick text letting her know she left the store and was heading home. Alya didn’t respond.

Marinette turned a corner, and her steps faltered. A man was leaned against the building, dark, heavy clothes on, baseball hat covering his face. His arms were crossed, and his head was down. She gave him a wide berth, crossing past him quickly and continuing on her path. 

“He’s creepy,” Tikki noted. 

“Very,” Marinette whispered. They both went silent as she heard footsteps behind her.

“Marinette…” Tikki warned as she picked up the pace, hand slipping into her bag. She fumbled through her purse, searching for her pepper spray and cursing quietly when she couldn’t find it. The hazy memory of taking it out of her purse to make room for more cookies floated back to her as she continued picking up her pace. She heard the footsteps speed up as well, and panicked. She turned around quickly, facing the assailant and holding out her hand. He skidded to a stop, closer than she would’ve liked.

“Stay back!” she yelled, putting her purse behind her protectively. 

“Give me your purse,” he demanded.

“Stay away from me!”

“Give it to me, and you won’t get hurt,” he took another step forward. She turned and ran, holding tight to the straps on her purse as he chased after her.

She heard him coming closer, closer, closer, with each step, his heavy breaths seemed to follow her.

“Tikki—!” she began to say. 

He grabbed her shoulder. Marinette shot her elbow back hard, hitting his stomach. He grunted, reaching his other hand up and yanking on her hair. She yelled out, kicking out roughly as he grabbed at any part of her he could, attempting to keep her still. She refused.

“Be quiet!” he snarled, shoving his hand over her mouth. She tried to bite him, but it was harder than the movies made it seem. She felt him dragging her backward, and panicked. She pushed against his hand, and snapped her skull back against his face. 

He let her go and stumbled back, one hand holding his nose and the other her purse. She gasped, checking her body for any sign of Tikki or her belongings. 

“Give it back!” she shouted, fists curling in rage. There was no way he’d be getting away with that purse. She wouldn’t lose Tikki. “I need that.”   


He went to run, but Marinette chased after him, tackling him around the waist and knocking him to the ground. She may have been tiny, but she was a tiny superhero who wasn’t ready to lose her powers. Unfortunately, without her powers, there wasn’t much she could do against someone twice her size.

She was thrown off him roughly, tumbling across the dirty sidewalk and hearing something crack on the way. She winced, but crawled to her feet, unbothered by the pain.

The man stood up as well, stuffing the purse into his pocket.

He flicked his wrist, and the glint of a blade flashed in her eyes. She took a step back on instinct, flinching when he stepped forward. 

“Don’t make me kill you,” he snarled. Marinette growled back.

“Listen here, you little shit. That’s my purse. I need it back.”

“Do you wanna die, bitch?”

“Give it BACK!”

* * *

Adrien was just enjoying his evening out for the first time in a while when he heard screaming.

He had just finished hanging out with Nino. They were at the new arcade that had opened up, and they had racked up a lot of tickets. Nino even went home with a fox plushie for Alya when he saw her on their date the next day.

But Adrien didn’t expect to hear someone screaming “Give it BACK!”

Normally, he would assume it was a pair of kids fighting over a toy. But the voice sounded so familiar, and so full of hatred, his head snapped around and he felt himself running toward the sound before he could stop himself. 

He turned the corner, but there was nothing there. He inched down the street quietly, slowly, waiting for any sign of trouble. 

He heard a grunt and a crash, and sprinted again. 

He passed an alleyway, and had to double back when he saw a large man grappling with a smaller woman.

He went to move in and stop the man, but when the woman’s face flicked toward his after a strong punch, he felt his heart stop.

Marinette, strong, brave, powerful Marinette, stumbled back into the wall, then leapt off it and decked the man in the jaw, teeth grit, nose and cheek bleeding. 

Adrien restarted his brain and leapt toward them before he could think. He pushed between Marinette and the man, rather easily he might add, and kicked the man to the ground much harder than necessary. Adrien saw the man’s head hit the ground and registered the loud thunk before his eyes closed and he fell unconscious. 

He instantly turned around and grabbed Marinette’s shoulders.

“Don’t touch me!” she gasped. He let go immediately, listening to her heavy breaths as she wrapped her arms around her middle tightly.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—,” he started.

“No, no, you’re okay. I’m still a little…” she laughed, voice wavering, “a little shaken up. You don’t have to apologize. I shouldn’t have… shouted,” she said between breaths.

Adrien let out a breath as he looked her over, resisting the urge to support her as she shook and wobbled. Her hair was matted down and dusty, face smudged with dirt and blood. Her clothes were ripped and shredded. She wasn’t wearing a jacket, so she shivered in the cold air. Adrien shucked off his jacket and handed it to her wordlessly. She nodded once and slipped it on, pulling it around her small frame. There was a cut over her eye, on her cheekbone, across her chin and nose. The skin around her eye was swelling up and turning blue. Her bangs were dipped in blood.

“Should I call the police?” Adrien asked, reaching for his phone. Her hand snapped out and stopped him. He turned to her, mouth useless as her eyes met his. The cheerful blue was dark. 

“Don’t bother. I’ll deal with it later.”   


“Alright…” he breathed out as her hand withdrew and she steadied herself again.    


He glanced down to the ground. “Uh… here,” he snatched her purse up, dusted it off, and handed it to her. She took it carefully and swung it over her shoulder, wincing as it brushed a scrape. He braced her as she took a step forward, almost falling into his chest.

“What happened?” he asked as they stepped over his unconscious body.

“He tried to rob me,” she told him.

“Tried?” Adrien asked, nodding to her dusty purse. 

“And succeeded,” she sighed. “I was trying to get my purse back.”   


“What?”

“Yeah, I know, I shouldn’t have been walking home this late at night, something could’ve happened or—”

“Marinette, _ why did you try to get the purse back? _ ” He asked, stopping in his tracks and pulling her with him.

She blinked. “Because I have important stuff in—,”   


“Oh my god, did you not listen when we had our safety classes? If someone is robbing you,  _ let them take your stuff! _ Throw it as far away as possible and run! He could’ve seriously hurt you, what if he had a weapon or—” His voice stopped as he noticed her clothing. Her shirt was sliced open, too fine of a cut to be from fingernails. His eyes trailed up back to her, face feeling slack and numb.

She had the decency to look ashamed.   


“Did he have a knife on him?”   


“... maybe?”

“Marinette!”

“What?” she defended. “There’s stuff in there that I need!”

“Is that stuff worth your life?”

“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “I wouldn’t have died. I was handling it just fine until you came in—”

“And saved your ass?”   


“No! I could’ve taken him!” 

“He was twice your size and ready to kill you!”   


“And I could’ve taken him! I  _ was _ taking him!”

Adrien opened his mouth to retort, but turned away in a huff. “You were doing well, but it easily could’ve gone south. I didn’t want to watch that. I had to help you.”

“And I thank you for that, but I’m not some damsel that needed saving, Adrien.”

He turned back to her and looked her directly in the eye. “I know that. You don’t need anyone. I’ve seen you in action, not just here. You’re amazing, Marinette. But that’s why I couldn’t let you do that alone. We’re partners, aren’t we?”

Marinette’s mouth opened and closed like a fish, face turning beet red. She looked away and mumbled something he could barely hear.

“What did you say?”   


She cleared her throat, still not making eye contact. “I, uh… you’re right. I don’t need anyone. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want anyone…”   


Adrien went silent, wondering if he should say something to that, wondering if there was something he  _ could _ say to that. Marinette cut him off before he could.

“I mean… I have this friend. He means the world to me, and… I couldn’t imagine a life without him. He’s saved my ass more times than I could count. He’s protected me, and cared for me without asking anything in return. That’s why… that’s why I couldn’t give up the purse…”   


Adrien glanced down at the bag over her shoulder as it finally dawned on him. “Tikki’s in there, isn’t she?”

Marinette sighed, “Yeah.”

“A-and the friend…?”   


“Yes, you dork, it’s you,” she sighed, a small chuckle bubbling through her lips. Adrien couldn’t fight the grin that spread across his face. “Oh, don’t look so happy. I’m still mad that you interfered.”   


“No, you’re not,” He sang, reaching down and scooping her up into his arms. She squeaked as he set off down the street.

“Adrien!”

“Yes, lovebug?”   


“Put me down!”   


“How could I do that to the poor damsel in distress?” he asked cheekily.

Her face set into a frown. “I’ll show you distress,” she muttered, huffing and turning away in a pout. He chuckled as she wrapped her legs around his waist and buried her head into his shoulder. Adrien gripped her thighs to keep her steady and tried not to think to hard about what else they could be doing in this position.

“You know,” he started. “You don’t have to have your powers to be my friend, Marinette,”   


“I know.”   


“We could’ve got Tikki back without having you get beaten up in a dark alleyway.”   


“Shut up, Adrien. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Whatever you say, bugaboo,” Adrien said as he opened the door to her parent’s bakery.

“Adrien?” she heard her mother say. “What are you… MARINETTE?”

“Hi, mom.” Marinette managed to say with a straight face as Adrien set her down carefully. 

“What happened?” Sabine cried, rushing over to her daughter. “Tom, get the first aid kit!”

“Someone tried to take my purse,” Marinette explained, sounding exhausted.

“Goodness, Marinette, you’re all banged up! Who did this to you?”

“Some guy, I didn’t see his face.”

“How did you get away? Did Adrien save you?”

Marinette bristled, and Adrien hid a chuckle, “Actually, Mme. Cheng, Marinette took the guy down by herself. I just separated the two at the last moment and helped her home. She handled it perfectly well on her own.”

“Oh, thank goodness, you’re both okay. You’re not hurt too, Adrien, are you?”

“Unfortunately, I’m untouched. I would’ve taken all those hits for her if I was there earlier, though,” he winked at her. Marinette scoffed.    


“You could’ve tried.”

“Marinette, behave. And take off that beautiful jacket before you dirty it up! You shouldn’t…”   


Sabine trailed off when she saw all of Marinette’s cuts underneath her shirt. She was silent until Tom came into the room hurriedly, carrying the first aid kit. 

“What is going—?” Tom trailed off as well. “Marinette?”

Marinette managed a small smile, feeling the rough fabric of her shirt rub against all her cuts. “Hi, papa.” 

* * *

Adrien was feeling great about today. He had woken up feeling refreshed, learned his father was out of town with Natalie, snuck some more food into his bag when the Gorilla wasn’t looking, and managed to have the Gorilla let him walk to school.

He took a detour.

Adrien passed by the police station, a bounce in his step, and looked up. The rope where he had tied the man who attacked Marinette was still hanging from their sign. Adrien would never forget the priceless looks on the police officers’ faces when they walked out of the station, donuts in hand, to see Chat Noir perched on a telephone pole, grinning wickedly as a larger, very beat up man dangled precariously beneath him, strung up like a slab of meat in a deli.

“Take care of this guy for me, will ya boys? Caught him robbing and beating a helpless young girl in an alleyway!” Chat Noir had sent them his famous two-fingered salute and vaulted away.

Adrien snuck a glance into the station. The man from last night was sitting in a chair, handcuffed and clearly irritated. He was at a front row seat to two officers arguing. The man turned his head and saw Adrien looking through the window. Adrien smirked and continued to school.

He walked into the school’s lobby to hear shrieking and loud yelling. There was a large crowd near one of the staircases, unsurprisingly, right where the sounds were coming from. Adrien made his way over and merged into the crowd, finding Nino.

“What’s going on?” he asked. Nino just smirked and nodded to the center of the crowd.    


“This is why we should’ve left together!” Alya shouted, face red and fists folded. Marinette listened on with a bored expression. 

“Say it again, Alya, I don’t think I heard you for the thirtieth time,” Marinette rolled her eyes. Alya growled angrily, stomping her foot and burying her head in her hands. Marinette put her hand on her shoulder. “Alya, it’s not your fault. And technically, it’s not my fault either. I just blame the asshat who attacked me.”   


“I could’ve protected you if I was there, though,” Alya whined. 

Marinette bristled. “Why do people keep saying that? I’m not someone who needs protection! First you,” Marinette pointed into the crowd and shot Adrien a look. He winked and chuckled as she flushed pink. “T-then you!” She pointed back at Alya, trying to get Adrien’s flirty attitude out of her head. “I don’t need protection when I can take care of myself!”   


Alya went to respond but closed her mouth and frowned. She turned to Adrien and back to Marinette, and Adrien could almost see the wheels turning in her head. 

“When did you…” Alya trailed off, eyes widening as Marinette realized where her mind was going.

“No, don’t you dare—”   


“Did you guys FUCK?”   


Adrien started choking as Marinette buried her head into her hands and flushed a deep red. The crowd tittered and smiled.

“No, Alya. He was the one who helped me home after the guy was knocked out.” Marinette muttered into her hands. Alya narrowed her eyes.

“You guys are no fun. I’m still pissed you never messaged me when you got home, you know.”

“I was being hounded by my parents, you jerk. Just let me sleep for once, would you?”

“Shut up and get to class, Dupain-Cheng.” Alya shook her head fondly, hugging Marinette lightly and whispering, “I’m just glad you’re okay.”   


“I know,” Marinette whispered back.

The crowd began to disperse as Alya found Nino and walked off with him. A couple people came by to wish Marinette a good recovery or congratulate her on being a total badass. 

Adrien waited until they had left before he approached Marinette. She was looking better, most of her scrapes and cuts were bandaged and padded. Her eye was less swollen but still black and blue. The dirt and blood was gone from her face and body.

“Hey,” he greeted casually, leaning on the railing next to her. She looked up, and flushed.

“Hey, uh… Sorry about Alya.”   


“Don’t apologize! That was the funniest thing I’ve heard all day.”   


“It’s only 8,” Marinette noted. He shrugged.

“Still… How are you feeling?”

“Better, thanks to you.”   


“To me?” he asked.

She smiled softly. “Yeah. I thought about it a lot last night, and I realized that if you hadn’t show up and intervened I probably would be in a lot more pain right now. So, thank you.”   


Adrien matched her smile, gently grabbing her hand and pressing his lips to it lightly. She managed not to flush. She felt his lips smile against her hand before he pulled away.

“So, my dad’s out of town,” Adrien said, hiding a smirk.

“Oh, he is?”

“Yep. Trying to find more business in Italy. So now I have the house to…” he leaned down and got close to her face, “myself.”

Marinette blushed again, “O-oh?”   


“Mmhmm… So, maybe, when you’re feeling bored, we can take Alya’s suggestion and have some fun,” he purred. She squeaked and shoved him back, blushing furiously as he laughed and held his stomach. 

“Y-you’re the worst,” she managed to sputter out.

“C’mon…” he said through his laughter. “We should go to class.”   


Marinette nodded, not trusting her mouth to say words.

“Cat got your tongue?” Adrien teased. She glared at him.

“No.” she deadpanned.

“Do you want him to?” Adrien offered. Marinette’s mouth fell open and she blushed again.   


“You’re a dork,” Marinette managed, slipping her hand into Adrien’s. His smile widened.   


“But you love me.”

“Shut up.”   


“Yes ma’am.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A prompt given to me by @Ghostee where I had to write a oneshot using the lines "We were supposed to leave like 10 minutes ago." and "Don't touch me!"  
> I think it was supposed to be angsty and lovey dovey but I made it violent and cool but that's just how I roll man.  
> Here it is! And please let me know what you thought!  
> Thank you for reading and please review!


	4. Mari-cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is hit by an akuma, and is transformed into something very inconvenient...  
> Suggested by Azulanwolf!  
> Rated T for swearing, sexual innuendo, and an erection reference (oh no how dare I).

“Oof!”

Ladybug grunted as a blast of light hit her square in the chest, knocking her off her feet and sending her tumbling off the roof.

This akuma was similar to Reverser, the Akumatized version of Marc Anciel, but instead of changing something about their personality or abilities, it truly changed them physically. Marinette had watched a small child grow fifty feet, and a man with a large nose lose his as it shrunk perpetually before she was able to transform.

“Ladybug!” Chat Noir yelled as she fell. She didn’t feel any different, but once she landed, the drop felt much farther than it once was. Also, it didn’t hurt.

She opened her eyes warily, noticing everything around her was much bigger than it previously seemed. 

_Oh god_ , she thought, _I’ve shrunk?_

Which makes no sense. Marinette wasn’t a large person. She was a girl of barely 5 foot 3 inches, why would the spell make her _shrink_ ? 

“Ladybug?!”

 _Over here_ , she tried to say, but she couldn't make her voice work. _What was happening?_

“Ladybug?” Chat Noir asked, creeping slowly around the corner of the building. He glanced around cautiously, but saw no sign of his black spotted partner.

Marinette felt something press against her side and jumped; much higher than she ever thought possible.

Chat Noir tensed, watching a black cat leap into the air as if something had startled it. He gripped his staff tightly as the sudden jump of the cat revealed the hidden figure in the pile of trash. A tiny, red, black spotted Kwami.

“Oh, shit,” Chat Noir muttered. Tikki glanced worriedly between Marinette and Chat Noir. She knew Chat Noir wouldn’t make the connection between the cat and Marinette, but she had to do something.

“Ladybug’s Kwami?” Chat Noir asked, approaching closer. Marinette the cat stumbled around, clearly not used to walking on four legs or being 12 inches tall.

“Yes, Chat Noir. I am Tikki, the Ladybug Kwami. My holder, uhh…”

“Do you know where she went?” Chat Noir asked. Tikki glanced over, saw Marinette’s frightened look, and shook her head.

“No, I don’t. But I’m sure I’ll find her soon, don’t worry!” Tikki reassured. “You just go fend off the Akuma, and we’ll get back to help you soon.”

“Alright, I… Aw, no,” Chat Noir cooed. Tikki tensed. _He wouldn’t_ …?

“Look at this cutie!” Chat Noir approached Marinette the cat slowly, putting his hand out lightly so he wouldn’t startle her. She blinked up at him with green eyes.

Tikki watched in horror as Marinette crept closer, sniffing his hand and nuzzling his fingers, before freezing and leaping back in surprise.

_What was she doing? Nuzzling against his hand? Why couldn’t she speak?_

“Let’s get you out of the danger zone. Tikki, you can find Ladybug?”

“Yes, but—”

“Great. Let’s get going. My dad’s gonna hate me but he never comes to see me anyways, so…” Chat Noir scooped up Marinette, ignoring her yowling and fidgeting and launched himself into the air. Tikki sighed. This wasn’t going to happen the easy way.

* * *

For some horrible reason, Chat Noir dropped Marinette off at Adrien Agreste’s room.

Marinette was very confused. She knew Adrien was lonely, but why would Chat Noir drop Marinette off at his room?

From the looks of it, Adrien wasn’t home. She managed to make her way into his bathroom, though and leapt up to the bathroom mirror.

She screamed.

Well, mentally. She can’t actually scream as a CAT, since their vocal chords are different and she doesn’t know how to make sounds as a CAT yet.

Did she mention she was a _fucking cat_?

She started to pace. _What was she going to do? She was a cat?_ At first, she thought she had shrunk and detransformed, but when Chat Noir didn’t recognize her she knew something had changed. _But a cat? How could she reverse this? She no longer had her powers, since she was detransformed and a CAT!_

Marinette started to hyperventilate, wobbling on her unsteady feet. Then she fell of the counter.

One thing, Marinette noted, is that falling as a cat was much nicer than falling as a human. She landed softly on her feet, despite falling back first when she tripped off the edge.

She learned her whiskers allowed her to feel more of her surroundings. She could sense movement through the air as they picked up vibrations. Her paws were sensitive too, and silent as she prowled through Adrien’s room. Her eyes could see the minute details across the room, such as specks of dust on his computer monitors. Her ears twitched constantly, getting used to every small sound happening around her. She could smell a heavy scent of camembert cheese, dominating _Adrien the Fragrance_ and the smell of new clothing fresh from the design table. It was a sensory overload and she must’ve spent fifteen minutes taking it all in.

Marinette heard him heading toward the house before he entered through the window. Chat Noir dropped onto the wooden floor with a light thud, a black jar in his hands. Inside, a shadow of a butterfly fluttered frantically, trying to escape. Master Fu must’ve lent Chat Noir a tool when Ladybug didn’t arrive in time.

“Damn, that was a tough one,” Chat Noir frowned, glancing down at the jar.

_Oh no._

He set it lightly on the nearest table—

_No please no._

—and closed his eyes.

_No no no no no no no no no no no no—!_

“Plagg,” Chat Noir started.

_Hoe don’t do it!_

“Claws in.”

A line of green energy crackled its was up Chat Noir’s suit, pulling it away and revealing Adrien Agreste, standing in his own room. Marinette’s mouth fell open.

_Mother of all that is holy…_

“Weird that Ladybug never showed again... Any idea where she is?” Adrien asked the black Kwami resting in the air. The Kwami yawned, freezing mid yawn and looking directly at Marinette.

“Uhh…” Plagg started. “No.”

Plagg glanced between Adrien and Marinette, before leaving the room without another word. Adrien didn’t seem to notice him go.

Adrien didn’t see the cat at first, grabbing his phone and sending a quick message to Alya.

  * Hey, any sign of Ladybug today? Looked like she disappeared!



He shoved the phone back into his pocket and collapsed in his desk chair, pulling up his schedule and checking. His mouth fell open in shock.

“He’s gone for a week?” Adrien refreshed the page and checked again, sure there was a misunderstanding. Gabriel must’ve been feeling comfortable with Adrien’s lifestyle when he added that in. He had never left Adrien alone before, and this was truly alone, since Natalie had left with him.

“Did he leave this morning?” Adrien muttered, checking his father’s schedule as well. He nodded. Seven in the morning was late for Gabriel, but it must’ve been a later meeting.

“ _Mrow_?” A hesitant call came from behind him. He froze.

“Shit, I forgot!” He exclaimed, turning excitedly and facing the black cat. The cat looked scared, staring up at him in shock as he kneeled down to pet it. The cat recoiled as far back as it could, stumbling away when it lost its balance.

“You seem like a stray… Hmmm.” Adrien looked down at Marinette, and she had an awful thought. _He’s not gonna do what I think he is… is he?_

“Hmm… I’d need a cat bed, and food…”

 _Shit. Dammit, Adrien_ . _Damn your beautiful, beautiful face._

“Uhh, I don’t think that’s a good idea…” Plagg stated, floating back into the room. Adrien looked up at him, frowning.

“Why not? I’ve always wanted a pet.”

“Yeah, but like… I would get a pet that is already trained. Stray cats are…” Plagg glanced at Marinette again. “...tricky.”

“Nah! It’ll be fun! I’ve never had a responsibility that was my choice, anyways. It’ll be a good life lesson.”

“Yeah, one you’ll regret tomorrow,” Plagg muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing. Where’s my camembert?”

“Where it always is? Stop being such a pig and eat less, Plagg,” Adrien rolled his eyes. Marinette started to step backwards, but of course, Adrien sensed her movements and turned back to her. She huffed in irritation, her cat vocal chords making a weird hacking sound instead because they hate her. Adrien tilted his head, looking more like an innocent puppy than the suave cat he apparently was.

He reached down to pet Marinette again, but she slunk away, maneuvering around the couch and table, heading for the window.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Adrien lunged, grabbing her just as she leapt off the ground. She yowled, upset and wiggling. He hugged her tight to his chest, bringing her over to his bed. She managed to wiggle free and run toward the window again. She went to leap, but something moved in the corner of her eye, and she flinched, falling over in shock. Adrien scooped her up again, petting her softly in an attempt to calm her down. The bird that startled her flew away, feathers dodging the winter snow.

_Our Father, who art in heaven, please fucking kill me._

Adrien let her down onto his bed, going to google what he needed to care for a cat. Marinette stared, wondering how she got into such a situation.

She had to find Tikki. And get out of this prison.

Never did she think she’d be calling Adrien Agreste’s room a prison, but to be fair she never expected to be in his room as a cat. She expected a ladybug, but never a cat.

She glanced back at Adrien, and then her reflection in the window.

Nevermind Tikki.

She had to get to Fu.

* * *

And to no one’s surprise, she wasn’t able to escape.

Adrien caught her almost every time. And Plagg caught her every other time, hissing words of encouragement and promises of fixing her while shooing the black cat back to the room. She finally resigned to her fate, pouting on the bed until Adrien came over to give her attention.

God, Adrien was good at petting.

And no. That wasn’t a gross euphemism. He was good at petting _animals_. She felt her eyes roll back into her head, and her ears flattened against her head to allow him more access to her black fur. A loud hum started in the air, and Marinette realized with a jolt that she was purring. Adrien’s lips parted to reveal a soft smile, and Marinette melted because that smile was for her.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

An hour later, Adrien was asleep on top of the covers, having fallen asleep while checking his texts. His phone lay next to his face. Marinette had wiggled out of his arms and gone over to the trash bin, where a strong scent of camembert wafted through the air. Her feet pattered across the floor. Plagg popped out of the bin, startling her backwards.

“You. Stop trying to escape.”

Marinette gave him a deadpan look. Plagg rolled his eyes.

“Look, Tikki is on her way. But we can’t help you if we can’t find you. So stay here until she arrives, unless you wanna be stuck as a cat forever?” Plagg offered. She sent him an icy glare. He smirked.

As if on cue, a light buzzing sound came from behind them. They both turned to see Tikki finish phasing through the window. She smiled softly.

“Hi, Marinette. Are you okay?”

Marinette sent her a look that simply said: _Bitch, please._

“That’s a no, Tikki.”

“I’m aware, Plagg. Let’s see what I can do.”

Half an hour later, Plagg and Tikki gave her the diagnosis.

“There’s nothing we can do, Marinette.’

Marinette was quiet for a second.

“ARE YOU SER—EEP! ”

The Kwami’s flew backward in shock, and Marinette leapt a foot into the air. _Was that her voice just now?_

A light flicked on above them. Adrien rubbed his eyes sleepily, before catching sight of the scene before him and freezing.

“Plagg? Tikki? What was that?”

“Just me!” Tikki said, smiling uncomfortably. Plagg mimicked her, teeth glinting in the moonlight.

“Oh… okay? Is everything alright?”

“Yep! Just visiting Plagg. We do this once a week,” Tikki lied.

“You do?”

“Yep! Just giving each other some updates on Nooroo,” Plagg said.

“Oh, alright..” Adrien glanced between them, then looking at Marinette. “And the cat is there… why?”

“It thinks we’re mice. Now, c’mon, Tikki,” Plagg grabbed her paw and whisked out of the room. Marinette glanced between Adrien and the door, before sprinting full speed through the open doorway.

She found the Kwamis hovering above the dining room table. She jumped up to meet them.

“You can talk now?” Plagg asked.

“I-I guess so… What happened? Did you guys do something?”

Tikki thought hard. “Oh!” She clapped her paws together. “We tried a spell to bring some of your humanity back to you. That must’ve given you the ability to speak.”

Marinette shook her head. “So I can speak now? How do I hide that?”

Plagg shrugged, “Don’t speak? I’m sure Adrien won’t notice. He’s pretty oblivious.”

“Fine.” She glanced behind her, seeing nothing in the empty hallway. “Now what?”

Tikki perked up. “We need to get you to Master Fu. He should be able to reverse this.”

“Okay, how do we do that?”

“Let’s just go now. That’ll make things easier,” Plagg offered.

Kwami and Master shared a glance. “Alright.”

* * *

Master Fu opened the door and, unsurprisingly, was shocked to see Plagg and Tikki alone.

“What are you doing here? Where are your masters?”

“Look down,” Plagg yawned.

Master Fu did as he said, narrowing his eyes and sighing. 

“Which one?”

“It’s me, Master,” Marinette said, causing the old man to jump. “Marinette.”

The man blinked. He looked back at the Kwamis. “What did you do?”

“We did nothing!” Plagg protested.

“Well, we made her speak,” Tikki offered.

“True, we did do that.”

“Just—” Fu sighed, opening the door wider. “Come inside.”

“I swear,” Marinette started. “This isn’t my fault. It was the akuma.”

“Hmmm,” Master Fu hummed, grabbing his book and flipping through the pages, clearly unamused.

“And now I can speak, and Chat Noir thinks I’m a cat and adopted me, and now I know he’s Adrien Agreste, and—”

“What?” Fu gasped.

“Yeah, I know, this keeps getting worse with every word. Oh, no. Tikki, my parents. How long has it been since I was transformed?”

“About four hours, now.” Plagg said, stretching. Marinette whined.

“They’re probably super worried. They said they’d call me when their plane landed. That time had to have passed by now. I need to call them,” Marinette looked around before yelling in irritation. “My phone’s gone too! I’m going to lose my sh—”

“Marinette, please. Wayzz, grab me these ingredients, please,” Master Fu pointed to the other room, and Wayzz followed his instructions, listening closely as Master Fu listed of the ingredients from his book.

“Witch Hazel, Mucana, Ginkgo Biloba, Lingzhi Mushroom, Oregano, Sea Kelp, Gotu Kola, Peppermint Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, and Clary Sage, just a handful of the herbs and about an ounce of the oils each,” Master Fu listed off.

“Tikki, get these from the box over there,” Master Fu instructed. Tikki nodded, flying to the box. “Myrrh, Rosemary Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Bergamot Oil, Ylang Ylang, Wild Orange Oil, Labradorite shavings, Malachite shavings, Chrysocolla shavings, Rhyolite, Lemongrass, and Chamomile.”

“Of course, Master,” Tikki dove into the box.  

“And Plagg, I need a hair from Marinette.”

“Easy peasy,” Plagg stretched his arms, and dove at the cat. Marinette yelped, scrambling away as Plagg chased her around like a red dot. Master Fu didn’t look up as the cartoonish sounds of cat yowling and items crashing made its way around the shop.

“Plagg don’t you dare touch mE—!” her voice shot up as Plagg grabbed a handful of her fur and yanked. Plagg brought it over the Master, who had set down a heavy black cauldron and was currently pouring gallons of water into it. They both ignored Marinette who was nursing her new wound in the corner of the room, whining about how much it hurt. Tikki returned next, arms full of the ingredients Master Fu told her to grab. She placed it down gently next to the cauldron. Fu grabbed a handful of red powder from a jar, tossing it into the cauldron. It sizzled, and the water started to boil.

“Powdered Inferno,” Master Fu explained. “A technique used by the Monks of Tibet.”

“Ah. Of course,” Marinette said, because _what else could you say to something like that?_

“Here you are, Master,” Wayzz returned, placing the other ingredients next to Tikki’s pile. Fu started chopping, ripping, peeling, crushing, and measuring each ingredient.

“Marinette, you may return to Adrien’s. This will be ready in five moons. Come back then, and I can return you to your human form.”

“Thank you Master,” Marinette sighed, slinking toward the door. Plagg and Tikki bowed to Master Fu before following her out.

They were silent as they went back.

“Tikki, how do you measure time in moons?”

* * *

Marinette didn’t last long keeping her secret.

The first day went well. She was quiet and complacent, letting Adrien rub her belly and scratch behind her ears. When he thought about ordering cat clothing was where she drew the line.

He fed her cat food, which tasted like shit, but she ate to keep her stamina up. Adrien was a bit of a wild card with his dad out of the house. Very Chat Noir-like. She watched him closely, learning his mannerisms outside the suit. She watched the way his eyes scanned the room as he entered, the same way Chat Noir did, and wondered how she never noticed when Adrien did it. He walked with a bit of Chat Noir’s swagger too, which she assumed was more prominent when his father wasn’t breathing down his neck. He used Chat Noir phrases when he was on the phone with Nino. He twirled his pens like Chat Noir casually twirled his staff. He would occasionally make references to animes or sigh through his mouth, cheeks blowing out awkwardly, just like Chat Noir does.

This really was blowing her mind. _How could her partner be her crush?_

Then she saw his damn smirk, the one Chat Noir shot Ladybug after he said a particularly raunchy pickup line, the one he used when he would show the camera just how much he grew up, and she finally understood. She finally understood how they were the same person.

She hated it.

The second day went pretty much as expected. Bad.

Marinette had woken up to something very hard underneath her. She shifted and rolled around a lot in her sleep, but she didn’t remember feeling anything like that underneath her. It was warm.

With a soft mewl she glanced down. Adrien was sleeping soundly underneath heavy blankets to protect him from the cold winter air. She followed his frame to where she was laying and shrieked.

That could not be what she thought it was— _oh my god it is I need to leave immediately._

She leapt off the bed, ignoring Adrien’s wild flailing under the covers as he woke up, and ran out of the room. She ran as far away as she could, but she could still hear Adrien’s heavy breaths and his sigh.

“That’s new,” she heard him mutter before she closed the door behind her, effectively blocking out any _other_ sounds he could be making.

“Calm down, calm down, calm down…” she told herself, pacing around the small room. She glanced up, and her mouth fell open.

“Is this Gabriel’s office?” she whispered, glancing around and seeing a large desk with a computer on it, stacks of paper piled neatly next to the computer. She wiggled her butt, and leapt up onto the desk. The jolt moved Gabriel’s computer mouse, bringing the computer to the sign in screen.

“Hmmm…” Marinette hummed, padding over and glancing down at the keyboard. The cursor was blinking in the passcode box, waiting for someone to input the correct— or incorrect— code.

“Passcode… passcode passcode…” she muttered, glancing around his office. She padded around on his desk, looking for anything that could give away the passcode.

“Need help?” a timid voice asked. Marinette screamed out “What the shit?”, flailing and falling off the desk roughly. She landed on her feet again, but stumbled back and hit the wall.

“Who’s there?” she called frantically.

“Don’t be alarmed!” the voice called again. “I will not harm you. I just want to help!”

“Who are you?” Marinette asked, not moving from the wall. She looked around but couldn’t see anyone.

“I’m not allowed to say,” the voice said softly. “But I truly want to help you, Marinette. My master is not a nice man. He must be stopped. I will help you stop him.”

“Who is your master?”

“He’s… I’m not allowed to say either…” the voice sighed.

“Can you tell me where you are?”

“I’ve been forbidden from speaking of many things, Marinette. Most of which include information about me or my master.”

“Is Gabriel your master?”

The voice was silent.

“Hello?”

“I cannot say. But I want to help you Marinette. Will you let me help you?”

Marinette glanced around, creeping forward. “What are your intentions?”

“To stop my master from getting your…” the voice sighed. “I’m afraid I cannot say what of yours, but you should know that it is very important that he never gets them. It will have disastrous consequences.”

“A-alright. How will you help?”

“There is a sticky note with my master’s computer password encoded on it.”

Marinette glanced around. “Where is it?”

“Not in here. Find the sticky note in the house. I was never told where it ended up, but I saw it being created. Once you find it, figure out the code, and I’ll show you all the proof you need to stop my master.”

Marinette let out a heavy breath. “Find a sticky note in this monster of a house? Yeah, no problem.”

“I believe in you, Marinette. We’re all counting on you!”

“How many of you are there?”

“I’m the only one in this room. There’s another in this house, trapped as I am. Then two more, free and happy. They are trying to find us. You must find the sticky note.”

“Two of you? Will the other send me on an impossible mission?” Marinette asked, joking.

“I’m so sorry that I ask this of you, but it’s for the good of the world. Please Marinette. Please help me.”

“Oh, don’t worry. This is a challenge, and I love challenges. Especially ones that I can’t solve immediately. I’ll free you, buddy. And you’re friend. We’ll stop your master.”

“Thank you, Marinette. For now, I will rest.” The voice faded and disappeared. Marinette stretched out on the ground.

“Great. Let’s go find a sticky note. As a cat.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She couldn’t find the sticky note all day. But she did find a garbage can full of tissues and screamed again, so that worried Adrien to no end.

“Why is the cat screaming? Do cats normally scream?” Adrien had asked. Plagg shrugged.

“I dunno. Do you know the last time I was around a real cat?”

“No?”

“394 B.C.E.” Plagg deadpanned. “And it tried to eat me. Now leave the damn cat alone and go play Xbox or something.”

“You’re particularly salty today, Plagg. What happened?”

“Nothing! I’m just hungry cause you haven’t fed me all day!”

“You ate ten minutes ago!”

“That’s ten minutes of _starvation_ , Adrien! Feed me cheese!”

“You’re so irritating, Plagg.”

“You’re killing me, Adrien!”

“Boys, boys,” Tikki chided, flying through the window, “You’re both very pretty.”

“Tikki?” Adrien asked, watching her fly over to Plagg. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, Adrien. Don’t worry yourself. I just need to speak to Plagg about his manners.”

“Damn right you do,” Adrien muttered.

“Hey!”

“Excuse us,” Tikki bowed her head, grabbing Plagg’s ear and dragging him through the bedroom wall. Marinette slunk toward the door, but Adrien shut it before she could escape.

“Sorry kitty, but I can’t have you wandering around the house anymore. I’m sure my dad would notice one tiny cat hair on the floor and lose his shit. You’ve gotta stay in here.”

Marinette hissed at him and padded away, pissed. She had to find that sticky note. She needed to figure out what the voice was talking about.

“I wanna watch a movie,” Adrien yawned, climbing up the spiral staircase to the large selection of DVD’s that he owned. Marinette followed him up, curious as to what he would choose. He scanned the rows, eyes glazed over. Marinette read a few titles.

The Dark Knight, Mad Max, Inglorious Bastards, Finding Nemo, Mothra—

Marinette’s eyes flew to the last one again. Mothra? The classic 1961 Mothra? Marinette loved that movie. The goofy special effects always got her laughing. She meowed loudly, climbing up the movie shelves and knocking that one to the ground. Adrien walked over and picked it up.

“Mothra, huh?” He hummed to himself, looking it over. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen it… I’ll give it a try.”

Marinette purred happily. She went to leap down, but the DVD cases falling over scared her. She jumped, landing on the ground. Adrien laughed, reaching down and petting her head. 

“Get scared?”

She purred happily, eyes rolling up in bliss. They caught on something and her mind stopped.

Attached to the back of the DVD case was a sticky note.

She leapt up and snatched it between her teeth before Adrien could blink. She ran quickly, leaping over the glass railing and landing on the top of the skateboard ramp, running along the edge and perching on the wobbly connector that held his zipline string to the wall. She stared at Adrien and he stared back, eyebrow raised and blinking heavily.

“Alright then. I guess you can have it?” He shook his head and went to the fireman’s pole, sliding down gracefully and putting the movie in. Marinette chirped, happy he didn’t fight her for it, and glanced at the code.

It was a mess. There were symbols and letters and numbers all mixed together. There was no way she couldn’t break it without the use of Google.

She glanced down at Adrien, who had flicked off the lights in his room and cuddled up on his couch, illuminated only the the screen before him. She sighed, sticking the note to the connector and hopping down. She needed his phone. So she’d have to use it when he was asleep.

 

He took a while to fall asleep.

Luckily, Marinette got to watch the movie a bit, curled up in his lap and he absentmindedly stroked her fur. And right when the move finished its climax, Marinette glanced up and noticed he was sound asleep. She smirked. _Sorry kitty, but I need to save a disembodied voice in your father’s office._

She snuck out of his arms, feeling confident when he didn’t stir, and grabbed his phone in her mouth. She climbed back up to her perch and looked at the passcode. She sighed, and tried to type something into the phone.

Nothing happened. 

“Right,” she muttered, “I don’t have his phone’s password…” She glanced around. “Or a way to work the touch screen.” She got up and stretched. “Okay, this officially is hard to solve. I’m totally down.”

She jumped back down and started to think. Where could she find something to use for a touch screen.

She remembered Natalie Sancoeur, Gabriel’s assistant, used a stylus occasionally. She was bound to have a spare in her office.

Marinette just needed to open the door.

She snuck into Adrien’s closet, apologized for her sins, and grabbed one of Adrien’s uglier ties, (not that there were many of them) and tied a loop in it. She swung it up and hooked it on the doorknob, tightening it and pulling with all her cat might. It clicked and swung open.

“Yes!” she whispered, untying the tie and dragging it with her as she attempted to find Natalie’s office.

“Which room, which room, which room… Aha!” she exclaimed, heading toward one that said “Assistant” on it. She tied the tie again, pulling the door open with ease and butting her head in.

She hummed to herself as she leapt onto the desk, looking around for a stylus. There wasn’t one in plain sight, but after opening the top drawer in the desk, she found one immediately.

Needless to say, she was feeling quite good about herself by the time she came back to her perch. Especially for a cat with no opposable thumbs.

Adrien’s phone was still locked, but it wouldn’t be for long. She tried a few combinations before getting down at eye level with the bottom of the phone, looking across it for fingerprints. She saw the hexagonal pattern he used and copied that, rather messily, with the stylus clamped between her jaws. The phone unlocked to his messages. Apparently he was texting Nino earlier that day. Nino had claimed that Alya hadn’t heard from Marinette in a while. Adrien said that Marinette was probably buried in her designs since she was such a hard worker.

Marinette purred, happy her kitty thought she was a hard worker. She shifted and heard a crumple of paper. The sticky note. She shook her head and refocused, opening up his Google app and looking up simple cryptograms.

She saw the Atbash cipher, Caeser cipher, A1Z26 cipher, and something called a Symbol cipher, using symbols that looked quite familiar based on what was on the note.

Translating the symbols, Marinette now looked at the paper.

VP912RH421ID

“Wow, really original…” Marinette sighed, heading to Gabriel’s office.

She typed in the passcode carefully, but nothing worked. She frowned, heading back and checking if she did it correctly. She had.

“Hmm… okay…” She looked at the Atbash cipher, translating that carefully into the one given. Atbash only worked with letters, so she didn’t touch the numbers. Atbash took the alphabet and reversed it, so A=Z, B=Y, C=X and so on.

She got EK912IS421RW.

“I guess we’ll try this…”

It didn’t work. She moved onto Caesar, still only working with letters. Caesar moved the letters of the alphabet three letters back, so A=X, B=Y, C=Z, D=A and so on.

She got SM912OE421FA. It didn’t work either.

She tried the A1Z26 cipher, which translated each letter to a number, A=1, B=2 C=3, all the way through the alphabet. She couldn’t tell if the number was 9 12 or 9 1 2, so she tried both, getting VPILRHDUID and VPIABRHDBAID. Neither worked.

She huffed, wondering if she was even using the right codes. There were thousands of codes she could try. _How was she supposed to know which one to use?_

She looked at the sticky note again. In the top corner she saw a tiny little word written out. She looked closer. It wasn’t a word. It said AC1S.

“AC1S?” she muttered, before looking back at the codes she was using. Atbash, Caesar, A1Z26, Symbols…

“Oh my god, I’m so dumb,” she sighed, grabbing the stylus and translating the code based on the pattern given.

She got EMILIEDURAND. It took her a second before she realized what it was.

“Oh, that’s sad.” She murmured, taking a moment to remember what she could about Adrien’s mother. There wasn’t much, just that she stared in a popular yet rare movie and tried to stay away from the media.

She sighed, stretching out unhappily and making her way back to the computer. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice where she was headed.

CLANG!

She cursed loudly as she bumped into the metal garbage can, knocking it over and sending it crashing to the ground with a loud sound. She winced, cursing and muttering to herself as she batted the tissues and balled up scrap paper balls.

“Can’t believe I put in all this effort and it was his dead wife’s goddamn name the entire time I could’ve guessed that a while ago with a simple goddamn guess and— AH!” She shrieked when she looked up and saw Adrien staring down at her with his jaw dropped to the floor.

“Did you just speak?” he asked, eyes wide.

“No.” Marinette answered instinctually, before whining loudly and running into the bathroom. Adrien followed, passing both Kwamis, stumbling a bit from his sudden wake up.

“You can talk? Since when?”

“I don’t know! This is all a disaster and I just wanna go home!” Marinette cried, dodging Adrien’s grabby hands. He reached again, and on instinct, she clamped her tiny jaws onto his hand. He recoiled in pain.

“Sorry!”

“What is happening? Is this a dream?” Adrien pat his cheeks a couple times, trying to wake himself up. He glanced down, and took a deep breath.

“Do you have, like, an owner or something?”

Marinette hissed. “Excuse me, this is a free country!”

“Sorry!” Adrien threw up his hands. Plagg and Tikki reentered the room.

Tikki glanced between Adrien’s hand and Marinette’s mouth. She gasped. “Marinette!”

“Sorry! I panicked!”

“ _Marinette_?” Adrien yelled.

“Shit.”

“You’re a cat?” Adrien asked, horrified.

“I guess so? I’m sorry, this is all so confusing…”

Adrien opened and closed his mouth like a fish. He exhaled roughly, turning to Tikki.

“Tikki, what are you doing here? Did you find Ladybug?”

The Kwamis shared a glance. Plagg shrugged.

“Well,” Tikki started, “yes, but…”

Adrien furrowed his brow, before his face went slack and he turned to the cat. “No way.”

“Yes way,” Plagg tugged on his whisker. Tikki smacked his shoulder.

Adrien crouched down, staring at the cat. “Ladybug?”

Marinette turned away, knowing that if she could blush that’d be the only thing she would be doing. “Maybe…”

“Marinette, you’re Ladybug?”

“Maybe.”

“You’re a cat.”

“Maybe.”

“You know my identity.”

“Maybe.”

“I know _your_ identity.” 

“Maybe.”

“You can talk.”

“I guess so?”

“Shit.”

“Shit,” Marinette agreed, scratching behind her ear with her back paw. Adrien stared for another second, before cracking a smile and laughing. Marinette pouted.

“This isn’t funny, Adrien!”

“It’s pretty funny,” Plagg shrugged. Even Tikki cracked a smile.

“In all honesty, if you were hit, Adrien, you’d be a real ladybug right now,” Tikki mentioned. That stopped his laughing.

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“That’d be bad.”

“Yes.”

“How do we fix her?”

“I’m not sure. My abilities are inactive since the earrings technically aren’t here anymore. They were transformed along with the rest of the suit. Plagg and I are pretty much powerless against this.”

“Dammit…” Adrien shook his head, before blinking and pinching his arm. Nothing happened.

“Trust me, Adrien. This isn’t a dream.”

Adrien sighed. “I know, I know… I just needed to check. Okay. So when that blast of light hit you, you turned into a cat?”

“Yes,” Marinette nodded.

“So why didn’t you say anything?”

“I couldn’t. Plagg and Tikki did this when they were trying to change me back. But before, I could make cat sounds, and that was about it.”

“Hmmm…”Adrien went silent for a minute. Tikki and Plagg shared a look before leaving the bathroom.

“We should go see Fu.”

“We already did. We still have four days until his potion is ready for consumption, so I’ve just been waiting...” Marinette sighed.

“What about your parents?” Adrien asked, “They must be worried sick?”

Marinette winced. “Well, they’re out of town, so I’ve called them on your cell when you were sleeping.”

Adrien raised his eyebrows. “You used my phone?”

“Yeah… sorry…”

“No, don’t apologize. I’m actually curious, did you dial it or did one of the Kwamis?” He cracked a smile. She felt herself heat up.

“They had to, my paws don’t work on the touch screen.”

“Your little toe beans don’t work?” Adrien snorted, covering his mouth with his hand. Marinette took a deep breath.

“I’m going to find another owner,”

“No, My Lady, wait,” Adrien managed to say through his laughs. “I’m sorry. But I’m happy you called your parents.” His brow furrowed. “Aren’t you supposed to be watching the bakery?”

“Well, yes, but I couldn’t really do that as a cat, so…”

“Do you have your keys? I could go check for you,” Adrien offered. Marinette’s tense shoulders relaxed.

“Well, my personal keys are gone until I can transform back, but I can show you where the spares are?” Marinette suggested. Adrien nodded, satisfied.

“We can head there tomorrow. Hopefully nothing burned down.”

“Right.”

Marinette glanced back down, and winced.

“Uh, Adrien?”

His head snapped toward her. “Yes?”

“Your, uh… hand. Blood.”

He glanced down. “Oh, whoops.”

“Do you have bandaids?”

Adrien scoffed. “‘Do I have bandaids?’ What kind of person doesn’t have bandaids?”

 

Apparently, him.

“Alright,” Adrien sighed, checking his phone. “It’s midnight. If I hurry, I might still be able to make it to the pharmacy and grab some bandaids.”

“Are you kidding me?” Marinette cried, leaping up to the counter to see him better. “It’s freezing outside! You can’t go out with weather like this! Especially you!”

“Why not?”

“Marinette’s right, Adrien,” Tikki called. “If you go out, someone might see you. Do you really want your dad knowing you left the house at three in the morning in below freezing temperatures? Plus, crazy fans will be out at this hour. You don’t want to be mobbed.”

Adrien was silent, glaring at his reflection. Marinette sighed, nuzzling against him before realizing what she was doing and bounding away awkwardly. She didn’t face him as she stuttered, “I-I know you need to stop the bleeding, but… but you can’t, can’t go out now. Wait until morning. The cuts will scab over soon and we can deal with the consequences later. It’s not safe, especially with the akuma still out. We don’t know what it can do.”  
Adrien looked at her, face blank. Then he smiled, reaching out and scritching behind her ear, making her purr. Then she mewled loudly, embarrassed. He chuckled, grabbing her and cuddling her to his chest.

“Maybe you’re right, My Lady. I’ll wait until morning.” He kissed the top of her head, and she felt the heat travel from her ears to her toes.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

* * *

By morning, it had stopped snowing, and the temperature had warmed to back above freezing. And it turned out Marinette was right. The cut had scabbed over, and it seemed okay for now.

“Adrien, I forgot to tell you something,” Marinette told him as soon as he woke up. He glanced down. She was staring at a sticky note.

“What?”

“Right. Well, I was wandering around your house while you were…” she cleared her throat awkwardly, “predisposed.” Adrien had the decency to blush and look away. “And I found your father’s office.”

“Oh please tell me you didn’t trash the place.” He sighed.

“No, I’m not that much of an asshole. No, I was looking around and there was this disembodied voice started talking to me.” She told him.

“What the fuck?”

“Yeah, I know, right?” she shook her head. “Anyways, it told me that ‘it’s master’ is doing something very bad and I need to break into his computer and find evidence to free them. Also it has another buddy somewhere in the house. So it told me to find the sticky note, which in encoded, and if I can crack the code it will give me the passcode to his computer…” Marinette trailed off, looking up to Adrien. “ _And it worked._ ”

“A-alright?”

“The passcode was VP9—a symbol I can’t read—RH4—a symbol I can’t read—ID. I translated the symbols into numbers, and then used three other ciphers to translate it into Emilie Durand. I tried it and it worked. I-I need to show you the rest…” she said, nodding her head toward the door. Adrien nodded back and followed her into his dad’s office.

“Hello?” Marinette called out, listening for any sign of a disembodied voice. There was no answer.

“Hmm…” Adrien said, looking around. Marinette shook her head.

“That’s not what’s important. Look here…” she went over to the computer and, at a painstakingly slow pace with her paws, typed the passcode in and opened his computer. Open on the screen, in front of Gabriel’s boring ass wallpaper, were many tabs of a book, scanned almost perfectly. Marinette thumbed through the tabs, each page making Adrien’s brow furrow more and more.

“Remember that book you lost a couple years ago?” Marinette asked.

“Yep.”

“This is it.”

“Yep.”

“It’s translated into English.”

“Yep.”

“And it has the secrets of each Miraculous with it.”

“Yep.”

“Do you know how long Master Fu has been trying to translate this book so he could help us get Nooroo and Duusuu back?”

“A really long time?” Adrien offered.

“Yes. You could say that. We need to get this to him right away. And then figure out why your dad has it.”

“He has it to get what he is looking for,” A disembodied voice told them. They both screamed, Marinette jumping into the air, and Adrien falling onto the ground in shock.

“See? I’m not crazy!” Marinette yelled, breathing heavily.

“I-I see that,” Adrien huffed out, crawling back to his feet. “Hello, disembodied voice. Please don’t kill us.”

“I would never harm you, Adrien. I would never harm anyone. All I ask is to be free, and for my master to pay for abusing his power.”

“W-what power?”

“I cannot say…”

“Who are you?”

“He cannot say,” Marinette butted in. “There a lot it can’t talk about. I’m guessing it was your jackass master?”

“I-I…” the voice seemed flustered, “y-yes, it was him.”

“Wonderful. Where are you?” Adrien asked.

“Can’t say,” Marinette said. “Look, I’ve asked it everything I could to figure out where it is, but—”

“Left or right side of the room, voice?”

“Oh… left.” the voice seemed surprised. Marinette’s face fell slack as Adrien headed toward the left side of the room.

“I’m going to walk around the room. Say “hot” when I’m close, and “cold” when I’m getting farther away, okay?”

“Y-yes, Adrien.” Marinette could hear the smile in the voice’s… well, voice.

She huffed. “Outsmarted by a dork.”

Adrien smirked at her. “Feeling a little dumb, bug?”

“Don’t make me claw your eyes out,” she warned.

“You like them too much.” He took a large step to his left.

“Cold,” the voice said.

Adrien did a one-eighty and took another step. 

“Warm.”  
Another step. “Warmer, warmer, hot, hotter, colder, hotter, hotter, hotter, a bit colder, colder, colder, warmer, Adrien you are now lit aflame!” The voice sounded so excited as Adrien opened a drawer and saw a small jewelry box.

Adrien opened it up, seeing a small ovular pin before a purple ball of light exploded. Both heroes gasped as the purple light faded, but nothing was there to greet them.

“You’re a kwami?” Adrien asked.

“Hello, Adrien and Marinette.”

“N-Nooroo?” Marinette asked.

“Unfortunately, I am still bound by my master’s wishes. The only way to break it is for Master Fu to clear my being and my… pin.”

“Is Gabriel Hawkmoth?” Marinette pressed, getting closer.

“I am not allowed to say, but I think it’s very clear the answer to that question.”

“Adrien.”

Adrien sighed. “Marinette?”

“I fucking told you. Three years ago.”

“I know.”

“Also I’m super sorry, your dad is an ass.”

“Trust me, at this point, I know.” He huffed out a breath and put on a brave face. “Let’s get this poor guy to Fu.”

“Don’t forget the book,” Marinette reminded him, clicking the mouse on “Print”.

He shot her a smile. “Right.” He reached over and scratched behind her ears, listening to her purr. “I’m gonna miss you as a cat.”

“Trust me, I won’t.”

* * *

“Ready to head out?” Marinette asked through a yawn, stretching her nimble body. Adrien’s lips quirked into a smile.

“You want to come with me?”

“Yeah! I love the snow! And I’ll be warm thanks to the fur,” she said, tail swishing excitedly. Adrien shrugged, his smile growing wider as he slipped his jacket on over his sweater. Marinette grabbed his gloves with her mouth and happily brought them over to him. He shook his head, amused, and pulled them over his hands.

“Ready?” Marinette asked. He winked down at her, opening the door and watching the winter air blow her fur back in a strong gust. She back pedalled from the shock, head shrinking into her shoulders.

“Oh, that’s awful… Oh no…” she muttered. Tikki poked her head out of Adrien’s jacket as he gathered the book and Nooroo’s pin.

“C’mon Marinette, I thought you loved the snow!”

“Shut up, Tikki!” she forced herself forward, taking light steps down the snow covered steps. Each step she sank deeper into the snow, until one step sent her careening into the snow drift. She yowled, scrambling the best she could out of the snow, ignoring Adrien’s heavy laughter.

“That’s it!” she cried, “I’m going inside!”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Adrien called, snatching her up into his hands and cradling her like a baby. She stared up at him. “You said you wanted to come. You’re coming.”

She felt herself heat up. “Fine. But if I die, you’re the one who killed me.”

Adrien smiled, “I pawmise, My Lady, I will never let that happen.”

She heated up even more, burying her face into his coat and ignoring his soft chuckles above her. _He was too cute._

“We need to find Duusuu too, everyone.” Tikki reminded them, ruining the moment.

“Right. According to Nooroo, Duusuu is somewhere in the house too, the same situation as Nooroo,” Marinette said, thinking about what Nooroo had told her. 

“We’ll find her when we get home, alright? First we gotta deal with Nooroo and the book.”

“And the dad thing…” Marinette offered weakly. His smile went stiff before he shook it off.

“And go to the bakery,” he said, not subtly changing the subject.

“And get bandaids,” Marinette said.

“Right, those too.”

“Maybe Master Fu will have something ready to change you back, Marinette.” Tikki said hopefully.

“It’s only been three days, though. He said five moons or something like that.”

“Tonight is four moons since then. Tomorrow night, the potion should be ready.” Plagg offered, poking his head into the cold air.

“I thought you didn’t know how to measure time in moons?” Marinette asked, ear flicking as a snowflake landed on it.

“I don’t.”

Adrien rolled his eyes. “At least you’ll be back to normal soon. Then you can cleanse the Akuma.”

“True.” Marinette sniffed the air, recoiling as the smell of garbage passed by. She shook her head, wincing. Adrien smirked.

“See? You always make fun of me for acting weird in costume. Now you’re the one acting weird for no reason.”

“It smells bad,” she whined.

“Oh, I know. I smell it too.”

“Dork.”

“Baby.”

The snow was falling gently, painting a starry sky on Marinette’s black fur. Her green eyes found Adrien’s hair, flecked with snowflakes that outlines his messy style. The streets were mostly empty, Christmas gone and passed and the New Year approaching. A few cars drove by and a small amount of people passed them on the streets, giving Adrien odd looks for carrying a cat like a baby. He ignored them, heading to Master Fu’s shop and holding Marinette close.

They finally reached his shop, entering quietly and looking to see if he had any customers. The place seemed empty. The Kwami’s took that as their cue to fly free. Adrien put Marinette down and she shook the snow off her fur.

“Master Fu?” she called through the store. He poked his head out of the back room, saw Adrien and Marinette and sighed.

“I assume the cat is out of the bag, then?”

Marinette sighed as Adrien chuckled. “Yep.”

“Well, I guess there is no avoiding it. I must explain—,”

“Master Fu, I really would love to hear what you have to say, but we’re here for something more important.” Marinette interrupted, turning back to Adrien. He produced the book first, holding it out for Master Fu to take. The man took it, before gasping and dropping it on the floor.

“Is that—?”

“Yes.”

“How did you find translate it?”

“We didn’t have to. Hawkmoth did it for us?”

“Hawkmoth?” Master Fu’s eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

“Don’t worry, we didn’t confront him. We didn’t have to. He’s currently out of town for some dumb business trip. We just broke into his computer and found this.”

“How did you know it was his?”

“I helped them, Master.” The disembodied voice said.

Master Fu stumbled backward.

“Nooroo?” Wayzz asked, startling Marinette. She didn’t realize he was there.

“Here,” Adrien said, pulling the pin from his pocket and passing it to Master Fu. Fu cradled it gently as he gazed downward. 

“Nooroo, how do you feel?”

“A bit cramped, Master Fu.”

Marinette smiled as Master Fu chuckled, “Well, we can fix that right away. Wayzz, if you will.”

Wayzz took the pin, flew over to the cauldron in the back corner that was bubbling away, and dropped the pin into it.

Marinette and Adrien gasped, taking a step forward. Master Fu held out his hand to stop them.

“That potion is not specifically to turn a cat into a human, young ones. It is a transformation potion, which will resent anything back to what it should be.”

The potion sent up a large bubble, which popped and launched the pin into the air. Adrien caught it quickly, before cursing and tossing it back up.

“ _Why would you catch that?_ ” Marinette hissed as it landed on the floor and made a burn mark in the hardwood.

“Reflex,” he winced.

With a large pop, Nooroo was forced out of the pin and into the air, spinning dizzily and making every take a step back. Tikki and Plagg flew forward immediately, latching onto Nooroo in a large hug.

“We’re glad you’re back, Nooroo!” Tikki cheered. Wayzz joined them. Plagg bawled loudly.

“Master, is the potion ready?”

“Give it one more night. I don’t want to risk it on a larger body, you will not transform back completely,” he warned. Marinette recoiled, picturing Hermione from the Chamber of Secrets.

“Sure thing.” She gulped. “Tomorrow.”

“We’ve also learned that Duusuu is in my house, Master. We’ll find her and bring her tomorrow as well,” Adrien told him. Master Fu sighed, and Marinette could see a weight was lifted off his shoulder.

“Wonderful.”

* * *

They had stopped to get band aids before they went back for the day, spending the rest of the day looking around for Duusuu. They couldn’t find her.

“Oh, we forgot about the bakery!” Marinette yelped scrambling to her feet as soon as they had sat down for the night. Adrien groaned.

“Right. I’m not walking. Plagg, claws out!”

“Nooooooo!” Plagg whined as he was sucked into the ring. Marinette felt herself being scooped up and launched back into the dark, cold air before she could blink.

Adrien got them there quick, landing on her balcony and setting her down. He detransformed and shoved Plagg into his pocket before he could say anything. Adrien popped the lock open on her skylight and held it open for Marinette.

“Ladies first,” he winked. She rolled her eyes, feeling herself heat up, and leapt down into her room.

“Guess I should’ve let you go first, then.”

“Meowch, princess! That stung!”

“Your awful puns hurt more.”

“You love them, don’t lie.”

“I would never lie to you. I hate them.”

“You’ll come around someday,” he winked again.

“Open that door and shut up, Agreste,” she shook her head as he laughed, opening the door and letting her head down the stairs again. Then another door, then down the stairs to another door. She hated being tiny.

And, to no one’s surprise, Adrien loved it.

“Need me to pick you up to see higher?” He asked. She hissed and leapt up onto the counter without his help. He just laughed.

She checked the ovens, making sure they were off, and the sinks, making sure the water bill wasn’t flying through the roof with a leaky tap. The windows were closed and locked, front door still locked and mail still coming through. Adrien gathered it for her and placed it on the counter. The only thing that was really out of place was that she was a cat in a bakery.

“Everything looks fine here. We can head back.”

“Sure thing, lovebug. Back through your room?”

“Mmmhmm,” she hummed, double checking the ovens. He scooped her up and went back upstairs, making sure their house door was locked and her bedroom skylight was locked as they left.

“It’s a shame. I should’ve looked through your room. I bet I would’ve found _a bunch_ of interesting stuff,” he said, smirking. She blanched.

“Don’t touch my stuff, Agreste.”

“I wouldn’t dare without your permission, My Lady.”

* * *

“Come out, come out, wherever you are, Duusuu,” Marinette called the next morning, wishing she was taller.

“I checked all of Natalie’s things,” Adrien sighed, shutting the door. Marinette hissed as a fly flew past her face. “She’s not in there.”

“Man, this sucks. Nooroo at least could talk to me. We’re dead in the water here.”

“Is there anywhere you know Natalie spends a lot of time?”

“The kitchen, stress eating?” Adrien suggested. Marinette shrugged. “Besides that, my father’s office and his atelier.”

“Hmm,” Marinette thought. “I’ll take the office, since I’ve already leafed through it. You try the atelier. Hopefully, she’s still in the house and Natalie didn’t take her along for the trip.”

“Don’t say that,” Adrien sighed. “I’ll call you if I find anything.”

“Same here.”

Marinette padded up the stairs and nudged Gabriel’s door open. Back into the office, she goes. Luckily, or unluckily, there was no creepy voice to guide her around. She opened drawers, knocked over piles of papers, overturned marble busts, and felt less and less bad about it with each thing she misplaced. Gabriel was a shit father, but he was also a shit villain. He deserved this and more.

“This is going nowhere,” she huffed, knocking his glass paperweight to the ground. It shattered, but did nothing to make her feel better. She looked closer at what she broke, and winced. A diamond ring sat in the middle of broken glass.

“That was probably his wife’s wedding ring, wasn’t it…?”

“Marinette!” Adrien called frantically. She leapt off the desk quickly and sprinted out the door, sliding into the atelier to find Adrien holding a vibrating peacock pin in front of an open safe, hidden behind the large gold painting of Adrien’s mother.

“What do I do?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Marinette cried as it jerked around it his hand. He yelped and dropped it as it started to steam.

“We need to get it to Fu!” she cried, racing forward to grab it. She slid to a stop as it leapt into the air and _hovered_.

“I-Is it possessed?” Marinette asked.

“Yeah, by a super pissed Kwami,” Adrien said carefully, inching around as it spun in a circle, seeming to scan the room around it.

“Okay, let’s try to— EEP!” Marinette shrieked as it flew directly as her. She leapt out of the way, thankful for her cat reflexes as the pin flew directly as the computer screen on a stand. It crashed into it, knocking it to the ground and breaking it.

“Shit!” Adrien flinched as it sparked and sizzled. The pin hovered before it, turning slowly and creepily toward the heroes. They both took a step back.

“Uh, hey, Duusuu… How are you doing?” Adrien asked, shooting her finger guns. Duusuu didn’t answer, instead taking what sounded like a really powerful inhale, and smashing into the ground beneath her.

“What is happening?” Marinette asked as a circular platform appeared and sank into the ground, heading to god knows where.

“I don’t know but I really don’t like it.” Adrien answered, daring to peek down the new hole in the ground. “Plagg!”

They heard a small _zip!_ behind them. “Yes Adrien, what do you wa— HOLY SHIT THERE’S A HUGE WHOLE IN THE FLOOR!”

“Duusuu’s a little pissed off,” Marinette said.

“That’s an understatement,” Adrien shook his head. “Plagg, claws out!”

Chat Noir grabbed Marinette and vaulted down the hole. Wind rippled at her fur as they fell, fell, fell. It was a deep hole.

 _Or_ , she rethought, _a deep evil lair_.

“What the _fuck_ was he doing down here?”

“Probably plotting to destroy the city,” Adrien suggested, looking up at the large butterfly window.

“Psychopath,” she rolled her eyes. “What would he gain from that?”

“Nothing. That’s why he’s a psychopath.” Adrien took a deep breath, walking down the narrow platform. They reached the other end, and froze.

“No fucking way…” Marinette managed to say. Emilie Agreste was in a coffin, arms folded neatly over her stomach, looking the same as the day she disappeared.

“That bastard…” Adrien said, tears streaming down his face. “He was… Dammit.” He wiped away his tears, taking a step forward. He reached out and touched the glass cover over his mother’s small frame. His claws clinked against the glass. He lowered his head for a moment.

Marinette padded forward, looking at Adrien’s feet. Duusuu’s pin lay there, still and silent. She picked it up and held it in her mouth.

He then spun around and grabbed Marinette, launching himself toward the ceiling with his staff.

Marinette moved the pin to her paws. “Adrien?” she asked quietly. He took a deep breath.

“This ends today, Marinette. We’re changing you back, cleansing the akuma, and calling the cops on this sick bastard.”

“A-alright,” she said, looking up and seeing a determined face with tears on his cheeks. She nuzzled up against his side, slipping Duusuu’s pin into his pocket..

* * *

Master Fu had turned Marinette back by dunking her into the boiling potion. Adrien had to leave the room when he heard her screaming. But she popped back out as a human again, steaming and detransformed. Her skin was red and raw, but Master Fu said that would calm in a few hours.

They had returned Duusuu to Master Fu, but hadn’t stuck around to see her transform back. They had other things to take care of.

Marinette had called the police as soon as they got back to the Agreste Mansion, claiming she was studying with her friend Adrien when they had heard something crash. They had found a large hole in the ground, and when they investigated, found out that Adrien’s father was Hawkmoth and his mother was alive! Le gasp!

The entire police force was there within fifteen minutes, the time Marinette spent cleansing the Akuma and sending Paris back to normal. Luckily, the hole in the floor remained. They had questioned them both to death, but their stories didn’t waver. Adrien feigned shock and sadness about his father, but the sad face when he mentioned his mother? Marinette knew that was true despair.

Three years of nothing and she was under his feet this entire time.

Adrien decided to spend the next three days at Marinette’s while they waited for Gabriel to return to Paris. Chat Noir and Ladybug had explicitly stated they would take care of Gabriel, and no one should alert him of their suspicions. Paris had stayed quiet about the incident. Adrien and Marinette spent some of the three days planning, some doing other stuff.

Marinette would say it was playing video games and hanging out. Adrien would wink behind her and mouth _“we made out a lot”._

Gabriel Agreste arrived at home with Natalie, fully expecting to find his son practicing piano in his room. He did not. He found a large hole in his atelier where his rising platform would be, the computer broken on the ground. Natalie’s office looked untouched. Gabriel ran to his office. It was in shambles. Everything was messed up. Natalie said she was calling the police.

“Oh, there’s no need!” A cheerful voice said behind them. The pair spun around to find Ladybug and Chat Noir lounging on the stairs.

“What happened here?” Gabriel asked stiffly.

“You tell me, Hawkmoth. Mayura.” Chat Noir said, his smile faker than Gabriel’s hair color. Both stiffened more than usual.

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, don’t worry. We took care of your miraculous for you. They’re safe, no harm done.”

“They’re also free, just in case you were worried,” Ladybug added with a smirk. “And your son is moving out. He was the one who found out, actually. He called us immediately. Poor thing. He’ll be living with his mother, once she wakes up from her coma. The doctors said it should only be a few more days! Isn’t that great news?”

“Yeah, Gabriel. Isn’t that fantastic? Your wife is coming back. All those years she was in your basement. Why didn’t you just bring her to the hospital like a normal human being?” Chat Noir asked, fake smile gone.

Gabriel didn’t answer. Natalie glanced between them, wondering who would crack first.

It was neither. Ladybug stood up and stretched, sending them a glare as she shot her yoyo forward and wrapped them up before they could react.

She pulled them out the door on their asses, Chat Noir laughing his off every step of the way. The reporters they called were gathered outside, snapping pictures left and right. 

“Ladybug! Where were you for the last five days?” Someone called.

“Unfortunately, I was hit by the Akuma’s powers! But I got changed back and I’m ready to protect Paris once again!” she said cheerily.

“Is it true that Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth?”

“Yep!”

“And that he kept his wife in a coma in his basement?”

“Also true!”

“And that his son was apart of it?”

Both heroes fell silent, before laughing.

“No, Adrien had no idea. He’s with his mother at the moment, and plans on cutting his father out of his life permanently.” Chat Noir answered, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Poor kid. He deserved much better, didn’t he Gabriel?”

Gabriel didn’t answer, glaring at the black spotted hero.

“Ah, here come the police. Perfect timing,” Ladybug pointed. “Take ‘em away, boys.” Ladybug shoved them toward the police officers, who handcuffed them and pushed them into the police cars. Ladybug and Chat Noir saluted the reporters and vaulted away.

“That,” Chat Noir said, landing on Marinette’s balcony, “was really cleansing. I feel free now.”

“Good. You should, after having to deal with him for so long.” Marinette said, detransforming. Adrien detransformed as well, taking a seat on her chaise. Marinette sat next to him, breathing out heavily.

“Hey,” Adrien said, looking down at her blue eyes.

“Hey,” She responded, glancing at his lips. He smiled softly, leaning forward and capturing her in a kiss.

“Thank you for everything,” he murmured as he pulled away.

“Thank you for everything. I’d still be a cat without you,”

“But you’d be a cute cat,” Adrien chuckled. She rolled her eyes.

“Don’t push it, kitty.”

“I’ll shut up now,” he said, leaning forward and kissing her again.

Plagg handed Tikki five dollars with a huff.

“Told you he’d say something cheesy.”

“He always says something cheesy.”

“Then why did you bet he’d say something to ruin it?”

“Cause he always does that too!”

Tikki rolled her eyes. “Sure Plagg.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Let’s switch things up a bit. May I suggest Marinette being turned into a cat and Adrien taking care of her without knowing? Anyway I love your writing! Keep doing whatcha love”
> 
> Yes, you may Azulanwolf on AO3! You may suggest a really cute prompt! I may have changed it a bit, but I needed to keep the story moving forward somehow. Sorry it took so long to get to, I’ve been getting about five hours of homework every night and I’m very tired! Yay!!! AHHHH—
> 
> Yes, the ciphers are from Gravity Falls. Yes, I worked the code out at work. Yes, I’ve memorized Bill’s personal cipher and doodle quotes in the code on my math notes. Yes, I am such a nerd I am aware.
> 
> Be like Adrien and cut out toxic people from your life! Even your bastard father who tried to kill you many times! If you or a loved one are suffering from bastard father syndrome, you should call the police right now and get that toxic shit out of your life immediately!
> 
> This was a lot of fun to write btw!
> 
> Let me know what you think! And everyone is totally free to send in prompts! Yes! Anyone! Including you! Go ahead and I’ll see what I can do! (no smut or like super violent rape stuff I will not write that sorry)
> 
> Thank you for reading and reviewing!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and please review!


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